Chasing After the Wind
by Shelomith
Summary: Continuation of "Hylian Twilight". Even though Zelda has been defeated, Ketura, Link, and Ganondorf find a new foe, but vanquishing him will take longer than anybody originally thought.
1. Prologue

I would like to start out by saying "Thank you" to all of the readers who followed _Hylian Twilight_ until the bitter "To Be Continued . . . ." As the summary said, _Chasing After the Wind_ is the continuation of _Hylian Twilight_. I only split it up into two stories because I don't want people to be intimidated by a story with at least fifty chapters, and these are two separate stories.

If you're new to the world of _Hylian Twilight _and Ketura Lykos, here's a link to the story so you can catch up: /s/4142002/1/

--

**PROLOGUE**

**_Where did he go?_**

His arms were getting tired from doing nothing but rowing for a straight night and day, so when Ganondorf finally reached the island that he saw from the ship, he got out, pulled the boat ashore, and stopped for a rest. The island was like a plateau, with gentle slopes supporting round, flat ground. A huge mound of stone and rocks sat on the island, as if it were waiting for someone to come along and build something with it.

Ganondorf could still see the ship in the distance, and with a remorseful thought of what he left behind, he turned away from it and stared blankly at the stone. For the first time in over five hundred years, he had met someone who he could call a friend, and who was a friend in return. However, she always got hurt right under his nose, and he never did anything to prevent it. He didn't want to risk having her nearly getting killed again because he wasn't there to protect her when he should have.

_Now, I'm the only thing she needs to be protected from,_ he thought sadly. _She has her father to do that. He'll take good care of her._

The whole time he rowed away, he thought of his friend, Ketura Lykos: the one person that he valued over all else, even his own life. She was sixteen years old, with bright red hair and eyes that matched the color of the sea around him, which also had a fierce, feral quality to them . . . .

_At least now, she'll get a chance at a normal life, like any other teenager in the world. She and Link will find other people, live with them, and she might even get married when she's older . . . to that painter. Or, she'll come and look for me once her bones are healed. I should have told her not to._

Ganondorf got up and walked around the mound of stone, thinking that he could use it to build him a house to live in. At the foot of the mound, he saw a small egg that was a pale yellow color. The egg was shaking to and fro, for it must have been hatching. Sure enough, cracks began to form in the eggshell, and after a minute of shaking and cracking, a small yellow beak popped out of the egg. The beak was connected to a dark little head, which was in turn attached to a dark little body. The whole bird soon came out of the egg; a little yellow feather was sticking on its rear end, the beginning of potentially beautiful plumage.

The bird chirped at Ganondorf and hopped up and down on its legs.

"Stupid bird," said Ganondorf to the bird. He turned away and began to walk back to the boat, but the bird chirped again. He turned around, and the bird was following him.

"Oh, you think I'm your mother or something? Look, I'll take you to a ship and I'll show you what happens to those who hang around with me." _Great, now I'm talking to a bird._

The bird continued to chirp and hop up and down, as if it didn't care.

"Fine, fine. Since I'm going to live on this island, I might as well keep you as a pet. But consider yourself warned: don't be surprised if your wings ever get snapped off."

Ganondorf went back to the mound of stone, took it apart, and began to build.


	2. One

**ONE**

Ketura Lykos finished hammering a piece of metal onto the hull of the boat she was building . . . with the assistance of her father and their host. Her arm had healed over the three months that she had spent on the ship, and her foot to a lesser extent: the metatarsals that snapped cleanly in two were fine, but the bones in her toes were now crooked, and would probably stay that way for the rest of her life.

This boat was made of metal kept in the cargo hold of the ship, about seven feet wide and twenty feet long, and it was powered by steam. It was built for one purpose: to go out into the ocean and find Ganondorf.

Ganondorf had a great impact on Ketura's life, mostly because he was the only real friend she ever had. Even though three months had gone by, she still harbored resentment towards him because he left.

_It's done,_ she thought proudly. _Now, I just have to wait for my cold to go away._ With that, she went back below deck to escape the chilly February air.

--

"Did you finish it?" asked Professor Octavius Bellum as Ketura came back below deck and plopped herself on a chair. Bellum had taken a keen interest in Ketura over the months, like she was something he observed as part of his scientific studies.

"Yeah," said Ketura, her voice showing signs of congestion. She followed with a fit of coughing. "Have you seen my dad?"

"I think he's putting some provisions together for when he's gone," answered Bellum. He pulled off his long yellow coat and threw it onto the coffee table, showing that he wore a long-sleeved white shirt underneath. It landed back-side up; a single, purple, angry-looking eye was embroidered smack in the middle of the fabric. "He's probably going to go look for Ganondorf alone, since you're still sick."

"What?" said Ketura incredulously.

"Your father wants to find him as soon as possible, which means that he can't afford to wait for your cold to clear up. So you'll stay here and get better while he's out sailing the sea."

Ketura rolled her eyes and hopped up. She ran to the cabin where her father, Link, slept in. He was in there, all right, putting some food into a sack.

"Hey, Ketura," said Link. "How are you feeling?"

"Useless," answered Ketura. "Bellum just told me that you're going by yourself."

"Yes, I am, Ketura. You're just a little too sick to travel right now."

"No, I'm fine. Really, I am!" protested Ketura. However, she let out another cough.

"I'm sorry, Ketura." Link clapped her on the shoulder, picked up his sack, and walked out of the cabin. He went to the boat above deck, looked it over, and lowered it into the water with Bellum's help.

"Dad, please," Ketura begged him as he prepared to jump into the boat.

"I don't want your cold becoming the flu or some other deadly disease, and neither does Ganondorf," Link reasoned. "Be a good girl, and get to feeling better." He pulled her into a hug, then released her before jumping into the boat below.

Ketura looked down at him as he fell (rolling her eyes at being told to be a good girl), and she laughed as he cursed loudly upon hitting the boat. Soon, he was sailing the boat away into the distance, and in a matter of minutes, he was only a speck on the horizon.

--

She went back to her cabin, taking a look at herself in the mirror in there. Her once beautiful face was marred by a pink scar running straight across it, from where she had been slashed in the face by Zant. She looked at the over-sized blue sweater she was given by Bellum to replace her blouse that had been completely drenched in blood, and thought about the scars below it, mainly the stab wound in just below her chest that had been given to her by the late Princess Zelda.

Remembering that looking in the mirror at her reflection wouldn't change anything, Ketura went back into the living area; Bellum wasn't in there at the moment. She looked on the counter at all the different-colored liquids in diversely-shaped bottles. Could any of these cure the common cold?

She saw a bottle of Red Potion, seized it, and drained it in one gulp. Immediately, the congestion in her nose cleared away and all the other symptoms of her cold disappeared as well. However, the Red Potion left her thirsty . . . .

Ketura reached for a water-like liquid that was divided into five shot glasses. She drank one; it tasted like Red Potion, yet it quenched her thirst a little. She drank the liquid in the other four shot glasses, and was about to drain a Florence flask when Bellum's voice interrupted her.

"I wouldn't drink that if I were you."

Ketura sat the flask down and looked at Bellum.

"You drank my Red Potion . . . and that solution in the shot glasses, which I don't remember what it does. But in that flask right there is hydramorte, stuff that is not to be messed with. It'll suck the life right out of you."

"Then I won't drink it," said Ketura reasonably. "I'm sorry I drank your stuff."

"No no, it's quite fine. I figured the Red Potion would make you feel better."

"Yeah, it did."

"I'm very glad to hear that," said Bellum, a sly smile on his face. "You know, Ketura, I've been wondering this: how does a gorgeous girl like yourself end up friends with the most evil man in the history of the world?"

"Ganondorf's not evil anymore," defended Ketura.

"Answer my question, please,"

"I dug him up one day while I was digging for money. You know that you're supposed to pray for the soul of the deceased if you accidentally dig up their dead body, and the gods interpreted my prayer as a call to resurrect him."

"Interesting . . . you just prayed, and it happened? You have no special powers or anything?" Bellum was slowly decreasing the distance between himself and Ketura.

"No, I don't." said Ketura, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"What a shame. That really could have helped me in my research. See, I've always tried to come up with a power to rival the Triforce so I could destroy Hyrule and its people. All those people who mocked me for my work, who ostracized me for my atheism. And if you had anything special, I could have used that." He was two inches away from Ketura, and his hands found her arms. The hands ran down her arms to her waist, then her hips until they were pushed away.

"What are you doing?" asked Ketura venomously.

Bellum grabbed Ketura around the neck and threw her onto the floor. "Well, since you don't have a special power, I figured you'd be useful for something else. A man has needs, you know." He took the florence flask and put some of its contents into a syringe.

"No!" protested Ketura, knowing what he was thinking about.

"Really, is that how you feel?" asked Bellum. "It would be a shame if your father took a drink of water and didn't know that it was hydramorte until it was too late, you know."

"Would you really kill him?" asked Ketura with fear as Bellum came around the corner, brandishing the syringe. She stared at the needle, which at this point was the scariest part.

"Yes, I would." Bellum said. "When a man spends a certain amount of time alone, the pleasures a woman can provide are a bit too hard to pass up, even for someone like me, a man of learning . . . ." He reached out, grabbed Ketura's arm, pushed back her sleeve, and jabbed the syringe in. She didn't look at the needle.

Ketura felt weaker as the hydramorte ran through her bloodstream. Soon, she was staggering, and she fell onto the floor. Bellum pulled out the syringe, cast it aside, and took her into her cabin.

"You are noble, willing to sell your virtue in exchange for your father's life," said Bellum as he laid her down on the bed. "However, if you love him enough to spare him, you will not tell him of anything that has happened today or will happen when he comes back."


	3. Two

**TWO**

One week of sailing the seas yielded no results, and his provisions were diminishing, so Link had no choice but to turn back and return to the ship so he could restock. There was nothing out in the oceans north of the ship, which meant that Ganondorf must have gone south.

Link pushed his foot down harder on the pedal that made the boat accelerate, in an urge to make it back faster. He saw nothing but ocean before him, endless ocean all around.

He kept going that way even as the sun set, keeping his foot pressed down even as he slept that night. After going on like this for a few days, he saw the ship in the distance. Upon reaching the ship, he saw Ketura leaning over the rail, her head craned down so her hair covered her face. When he got up close to the ship, she vomited, and he watched the vomit fall from her mouth into the ocean.

"Hey Ketura!" Link called.

Ketura looked up wearily, then half-smiled as she acknowledged her father's return. She bent down and disappeared, then reappeared, throwing a rope overboard so Link could catch it and secure the boat. Soon, the boat was being lifted up level with the deck, and Link got out to go over to his sick-looking daughter.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, grasping her shoulders.

"I'm fine. I'm . . . seasick, Dad," said Ketura. The hesitation in her voice made Link mentally question whether or not she was telling the truth.

"You don't look fine. And not once in three months have you gotten seasick."

"I don't know if I'm seasick, Dad, okay? It was just something I ate. Fish, you know?"

"Was the fish undercooked or something? Who did the cooking while-"

"Dad, please, no more food talk. I can't take it." Ketura sounded mildly irritated.

"I'm going to change the subject then. Sorry, love, but I didn't find him. I began to ran out of food, so I came back for more before checking the seas to the south."

"I could tell you didn't find him. Otherwise, you wouldn't be alone."

"Whoa, Ketura, what's with the sudden irritability?"

"I'm not irritable!" she snapped. "I'm just feeling a little queasy, that's all."

"Oh, okay. I'll leave you alone, then." Link turned to go below deck, and Ketura followed.

"Dad, that's not what I meant. I think now . . . I'm going to need you now more than ever."

Link chuckled. "Ketura, wouldn't you rather have someone other than a parent to hang around with all the time? I think that we should just get off this ship, take the boat, find some other people to live with, and you can live a normal life."

"That would be nice," agreed Ketura, all of the sudden sounding calm. "Although my shot at a normal life is pretty much gone by now."

"Why do you say that?"

"Dad, I've been trying to keep a secret from you. I'm --"

"Ah, Link! You're back!" Bellum boomed cheerfully. "No Ganondorf?"

"No, no Ganondorf," confirmed Link. "And Ketura, what secret -"

"Oh come now, Link. What daughter keeps a secret from her father?" scoffed Bellum, tossing a warning glare at Ketura.

"It's not really a secret, Dad. I'm . . . participating in one of Bellum's experiments. For nine months I'm in charge of incubating a germ, and when the nine months are up, he's going to use the germ in his research on life force."

"What's life force?" asked Link.

"Every creature with a soul has life force. It is the energy emitted from an organism's soul, basically. Hydramorte can be used to extract life force from an organism."

"It's pretty fascinating stuff, Dad," said Ketura. "The other day, he caught a fish and placed it in a bowl of hydramorte, and soon, the fish turned into stone. At the bottom of the bowl was this sand stuff, and the sand was the physical manifestation of the fish's life force."

"And just what do you plan to do with this knowledge?" inquired Link.

"I'm just doing research right now, that's all." Bellum said, but Link knew that he wasn't nearly as good a liar as Ketura was.

"He's going to use hydramorte as a weapon of mass destruction to enslave the whole ocean, since nobody ever accepted him. He's going to get back at the people who rejected him. So basically, he's another Zant," Ketura blurted.

"You -" Bellum slapped Ketura across her face while calling her a name usually used when referring to a despicable woman.

"That didn't hurt, you know," sassed Ketura. "And Dad, this thing I'm incubating for nine months . . . it's not a germ, it's a baby. I'm pregnant."

The blank look on Link's face told her that he didn't know what to think. "Ketura, do you know anything about . . . ."

"I didn't want this," Ketura assured Link. "He made me, or he would kill you once he got back."

Link looked at Bellum angrily. "Is all of this true, Bellum? Did you rape my daughter?"

Bellum chortled. "Yes, I did tell Ketura that I would kill you if she didn't agree to have intercourse with me. I also said that if she told, you would die."

"Oh please, like you can keep a pregnancy a secret after a few months!" burst Link. "You should be ashamed of yourself, taking advantage of a sixteen-year-old! And I'm not afraid of you. You have no weapons!"

"True, true, I don't have swords or bows . . . ." Bellum went to the kitchen, grabbed a Florence flask, and handed it to Link. "I completely forgot my manners. Surely after a long time at sea, you're thirsty?"

Link took the flask from Bellum and was ready to drink when Ketura knocked it from his hands. The flask fell to the floor and shattered into a dozen pieces, hydramorte seeping into the wood.

"Some manners you have, trying to kill your guests," spat Ketura. "Which is why I don't want to be your guest anymore. Dad, let's take the boat and go."

"I am going to to kill Bellum first!" roared Link, picking up a bottle and hurling it at the scientist. The bottle hit Bellum in the chin and fell unceremoniously to the floor.

"What did I ever do to you, Link?" asked Bellum innocently.

"It's more what you did to Ketura, even though no girl should be a mother at sixteen and no man should be a grandfather at thirty-one!" Link lunged at Bellum and knocked him to the floor; Ketura ran over and stomped on Bellum's groin. He curled up in reaction to the pain, but uncurled swiftly and stood up. The moment he was up, Link punched him in the face, and he staggered back into the wall.

"Ketura, go to the boat!" Link ordered her. Once she was gone, Bellum was up again, and he made a run for a wine bottle filled with sand. He removed the cork and spilled some sand onto the floor. The sand began to take shape into a creature similar to a Darknut, but with blue armor. It held a large sword and shield.

"I may not be able to best you in combat, Link, but he can," said Bellum slyly.

Link made no attempt to fight; he dashed to the deck, lowered the boat into the water below, and jumped down to join Ketura in the boat. He got into the driver's seat in front of the bridge and took off.

"Did you get him, Dad?" Ketura asked, worried.

"No. He whipped out some magic sand or something and made a soldier thing with this big sword. I couldn't have taken it without a sword myself. And the only person I know who can is somewhere out on that big old ocean."

"Well, where do we go now?"

"Ganondorf waits, you know."


	4. Three

**THREE**

"I swear, this smell of fish is going to kill me," said Ketura as she sat next to Link, who was steering the boat.

"What were you thinking, Ketura?" asked Link, a tone of both anger and concern in his voice. "Do you think I'm too old to defend myself or something? I knew about the hydramorte all along; I only acted like I was going to drink it so I could try a sneak attack."

"No, you're not too old to defend yourself, Dad," sighed Ketura. "It's just reflex, I guess. Someone makes a threat, you do what you can to thwart it."

"Hey, next time someone tells you to have sex with them or they'll kill me, let him try to lay his hands on me. Say no."

"It was . . . much scarier than dueling with _her_ on top of that tower. I'm not doing it again."

"Good response, sweetheart."

Ketura gave him a piercing glare.

"Sorry. I forgot, you don't like those pet names."

"Dad, do you have anything to eat?"

"Check in that sack right there," Link pointed to the sack at his feet. Ketura picked it up and pulled out a small apple. She dropped the sack and bit savagely into the apple, ripping out a huge chunk of fruit and chewing it furiously.

"Craving much?" asked Link jokingly.

"So, where are we going to look first?" asked Ketura in between bites.

"Well, there aren't a whole lot of islands to the west, it seems. So Kakariko-on-an-island shouldn't be too far away. I'll drop you off there and go look for him again."

"Dad! Why can't I go?" Ketura sounded mildly incensed.

"You're pregnant, remember?"

"That can change. I'll punch myself in the stomach."

"No. Even when unwanted, human life is human life and is sacred . . . unless the person's a scumbag."

Ketura spoke in a mock baby voice, framing her stomach with her hands. "I might not have been born yet, but I'll be scummy all right, Grandpa! Just watch me!"

"Rub it in," muttered Link. "You're still keeping the baby."

"You're punishing me for being a caring daughter?"

"I'm not punishing you at all, Ketura. Now, let's just be on the lookout for Ganondorf."

"Heh, wait until he finds out . . . Bellum will be so dead."

"Yeah, I know. I seriously doubt he'd live in that dilapidated rock house on that island right there, don't you think?" said Link as he pointed to the first island they approached. The house looked like a half-built tower, and a dark-feathered bird with beautiful gold plumage that was maybe four feet tall was perched on the top of it.

Link, Ketura, and the unborn baby sailed right by the island, and they could hear the bird screeching in the distance as they continued south and came to a reef by midnight. They stopped here for the night before continuing in the morning.

After a few days, the boat ran out of steam to power it, so they pulled over to the nearest island (which was shaped like a star) to find another way to power it. On the island, Ketura found a sword buried in the dirt as well as some fresh fruit, and Link found a square sail with the symbol of the Gerudo on it. He used the sword to cut down a tree and fashion a mast to attach the sail to. Once all this was completed, they were on their way again.

--

The only way the two had to keep track of time was how large Ketura had gotten, so Link estimated that they had been at sea for at least eight months. Eight months of slow sailing around the ocean to scan islands with no population at all, and no Ganondorf anywhere. They had passed by two different islands that had villages on them, but Ketura adamantly refused to stay there.

"We've scoured the whole sea, and still no sign of him," sighed Link. "And, your baby's due any time. Have you been thinking of names, Ketura?"

"Not really, no," said Ketura tiredly; she was often seen sitting against the bridge of the boat, too tired to get up and walk around. "I think I'll just see what kind of person the baby looks like."

"Ketura, I don't want you to be upset. But you know that once the baby is born, you're going to be a mother. You can't go on another adventure or do any more exploring. You're going to have to stay in one place and raise the kid."

"I know, Dad. I'll wait until my kid's older, then we'll adventure together!"

"I also recommend that you get married, so your baby can have a father. However, it's a recommendation, so you can take as much time as you want when it comes to selecting your husband. I want you to make the right decision."

"Because you didn't?"

Link nodded.

"Do I have to pick someone who's rich, or can I pick someone solely on the basis of being in love?"

Link groaned at the words "in love."

Over the next few minutes, storm clouds began to accumulate, and rain began to fall. Lightning streaked the sky, followed by deep claps of thunder. Link saw an island with a cave nearby, so he piloted the boat that way. His hands jerked off of the steering wheel when he heard a cry come from Ketura.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

The look on Ketura's face suggested that she was in pain. She had finally stood up, but she was bent over, her hand on her lower back.

"I don't know. I just felt some pain. Ooh! Another one."

"Hold on, Ketura. We're almost there."

--

The world was slowly losing focus for Ketura. She assumed that she was feeling labor pains, and the pain combined with the blinding rainstorm was enough to make her fall over.

The wind and rain had forced her eyes shut, but she could feel Link trying to lift her, but he was staggering under her weight. He called something, but she couldn't make out what he said.

As another contraction hit her, she was being lifted with ease and carried to a place that felt dry. She was laid down on the ground, and a warm hand rested on her forehead, stroking her drenched hair. Minutes later, Link said something else, but she still couldn't tell what.

Consciousness left her.


	5. Four

**FOUR**

Ketura woke up and found herself inside a cave. _I'm dead, _was her first thought. _I died in childbirth._ She pushed herself up to sit up and looked around. She saw Link with his back turned, standing over by the shore. _Dad's dead, too._

"Did my baby die too?" she said out loud.

"Ketura, you're alive," said a familiar voice from behind her. She froze.

Ganondorf reached out and pulled Ketura closer to him. "You didn't die, you were just overcome by your labor pains, that's all. Since you were in no state to deliver naturally, we cut your stomach open and took the baby out."

"Where is my baby?" asked Ketura distantly, not caring that she was here with her friend.

"Your father has her. He made a blanket and some clothes for her out of the sail of your boat. He told me the whole story, and I'm so sorry, Ketura. Had I stayed, none of this would have happened."

"Stop blaming yourself!" snapped Ketura. "None of this was ever your fault! I was bitten and stung by Skulltulas because I was being stupid. I was burned and slashed by Zant because I didn't get out of the way fast enough. I was stabbed by _her_ because I didn't react quickly enough again. And I fell off the tower to keep _her_ from finishing me off. None of it is your fault."

"You getting raped by Bellum is my fault, really. How many times do I have to explain it to you?"

"One more time, so I get it."

"If I didn't leave, your father wouldn't have come to look for me, leaving you alone with Bellum. And even if Bellum did try anything while I was still around, I'd take the boat and whisk you and your father away."

"But, you weren't around," said Ketura. "I know that you will always feel responsible for how screwed up my life is, and you will refuse to acknowledge any part I had in it, but that's no reason to leave me alone."

"I know, Ketura. Again, I'm sorry," said Ganondorf as he wrapped his arms around Ketura. "However, you're going to have to live a normal life now. That means I won't be around."

"I don't want a normal life," said Ketura.

"You need one. You're a mother now, Ketura, and your daughter needs to be raised with stability. I'm even agreeing with your father that you should get married eventually." Ganondorf let go, got up, and walked over to Link. The two men talked about something for a while, then Link came over to Ketura; he was holding his granddaughter, who was wrapped up in the remnants of the sail.

"Take her," said Link, holding the baby out to his daughter. Ketura took her daughter and looked at her.

The baby's head was the only part not wrapped up in the old sail. Tufts of black hair were on top of her head, and her eyes were a serene jade green. Ketura couldn't help but smile.

"Hey there, kid," said Ketura to her daughter. "I'm your mom, and I guess I should name you now. You look like a . . . Rachel? No. How about . . . Julia? I think not. Perhaps . . . Catherine? Yes, I like Catherine. Catherine Lykos. Has a nice ring to it."

"What about a middle name?" suggested Link.

"Hmm, a middle name should mean something. Catherine Ilia Lykos? Nah, even though you have your grandmother's eyes. Catherine . . . _Midna_ Lykos. I like it. Don't you, Dad?"

Link beamed.

--

Link, Ketura, baby Catherine, and Ganondorf stayed on the island for three more days. Ketura learned from Ganondorf that during her time at sea, two days before Catherine was born, she had turned seventeen. "The day I'm not sick, or unconscious, or pregnant during my birthday is the day that . . . something out of the ordinary happens. Seriously, ever since I was eleven, I've been sick during my birthday."

Ganondorf really hadn't done much of anything from the time he left to then; he went to the first island he found, built a measly house out of rock, and was busy raising a bird that was probably now the size of a small roc. He was passing by the island in his rowboat to find more food for his bird during the storm, and he saw a pregnant girl fainting from her labor pains, so he decided to help. Much to his delight and surprise, it was Ketura.

Catherine rarely cried; she only went into a fit of wailing once in the whole three day period, and that was when she was hungry. Ketura made a point of regularly feeding her every few hours so she didn't get the opportunity to cry. Some of the sail was still left over, so Link cut it into squares that were to be used as diapers.

The only thing that disturbed Ketura was the idea that she would never see Ganondorf again once she, Link, and Catherine left the island. She felt like that she was living with her mother again, who had decided her life for her: Ilia wanted Ketura to marry, have children, and be a regular wife and mother. It drove her crazy that the two people she admired most in the world were trying to force that upon her again. She had had a taste of the adventurous lifestyle, and that was the only life she wanted. But now, she really didn't have much of a choice.

--

It was morning on the fourth day. Ketura was strolling on the beach of the island with Catherine, and she ran into Ganondorf.

"Hey, Ketura," he said. "I just got finished talking to your father, and I told him that there's an island to the east of here with a town. You three are going to leave this afternoon, and I'm going to go after Bellum."

"How are we going to go if we have no sail?" asked Ketura skeptically.

"I used some of my magic to power it. Magic has replaced steam," he explained. "Anyways, your father told me that Bellum's out to destroy the world, and he discovered this stuff called life force. Life force is supposed to be as strong as the Triforce, but how can a creation of the gods be as powerful as the power of the gods?"

"So he's competition, basically?" said Ketura.

"No, he's a potential threat." Ganondorf noted the sad look on Ketura's face, which she tried to hide by staring at Catherine intently. "What are you so upset about?"

"I'm upset because ever since I got pregnant, my pants have been too tight. At least this sweater's always been too big," she lied unconvincingly.

"Yeah, right. You're probably never going to see me again after today, and all you're doing is complaining about your pants?" he questioned, reaching his hand into his pocket and producing a small silver ring with an onyx gemstone set into it. "And you're not the only one who's sad about this."

"You're really good at acting happy," said Ketura with a sigh. "But why should you and Dad get to make all the decisions?"

"Ketura, you made your decision when you thought that Bellum could harm your father. The consequence is right there in your arms."

She didn't respond.

"Um . . . Ketura. I found this ring the other day floating in the water, and I thought of you when I saw it."

Ketura held out her palm. "Thanks." Ganondorf dropped the ring in her palm, then watched as she juggled holding Catherine and sliding the ring onto her right-hand middle finger.

"I hope . . . that you'll never forget about me. Because -"

"You certainly won't, I know. Don't worry, who can forget you?"

Ganondorf laughed weakly. "Oh, Ketura, I-"

"Not another word."

--

When she couldn't bear to spend any more time with Ganondorf in fear of getting too emotional and saying three words best left unsaid, Ketura turned away and walked to the other side of the beach, past Link, who was still asleep. She sat down on the shore, her bare feet licked by the waves, Catherine cooing in her lap.

Ketura began to ponder how she was going to raise the child. The first thing she decided was that she wasn't going to smother Catherine like she had been smothered. She was going to encourage Catherine to follow her dreams, to think freely, and most importantly, have as many friends as she wanted.

_It'll be a mother-daughter activity, making new friends. But if this island was once Kakariko, and it has the same people from when I grew up, would they accept me, especially after my stint in a conspiracy?_

Something big and black caught Ketura's peripheral vision. She looked up, and groaned in loathing, for Bellum's ship was speeding her way.


	6. Five

_A note to my readers:_ If you have not played "The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass", I suggest that you go to your local game store and pick up a copy so you can play it. Otherwise, you might not get the significance of Bellum and what he's up to. Aside from understanding the story a little better, you'll get an enjoyable gaming experience out of it, but not as enjoyable as its predecessor (The Wind Waker)

**FIVE**

Ketura sprang up and ran to her boat. She tucked Catherine away in the bridge, grabbed the sword that she had found, and ran out to meet Bellum, who was standing on shore, surveying the island.

"Long time no see, Ketura," said Bellum with a smirk.

"You stay away," she said coldly, pointing the sword at him.

"Really now, is this any way to treat the father of your child? Speaking of which, where have you hidden the little squirt?"

"I don't want you anywhere near her or my dad. Get off the island now."

"Oh please, Ketura. I've subdued you once. I can do it again." Bellum reached into his coat pocket and produced a syringe filled with hydramorte.

"I have a sword this time," Ketura pointed out. "I also have my dad here . . . and Ganondorf." She remembered Ganondorf's desire to kill Bellum. "Do you want to go see him?"

"No, I don't, actually," said Bellum. "I'm sure he knows the story of what I did to you and he would probably want to hurt me. Now, the real reason why I'm here is to collect the baby so I can drain her life force to further my research. So where is she?"

"Do you seriously expect me to tell you where I'm hiding my daughter?"

"If you value your life, you will."

"Assume that I don't value my life." Ketura dropped her sword. "Drain as much as you want from me . . . life force, that is."

Bellum advanced on her with his syringe outstretched, ignoring the fearful look on Ketura's face as she saw the needle. Soon, hydramorte was injected into Ketura's veins, and she screamed.

"Shut up!" snapped Bellum as the last of the hydramorte drained from the syringe. When he removed the needle, Ketura rolled over, propped herself up onto her elbows, and coughed up sand. This sand was a brilliant golden color, contrasting the pale sand of the beach.

"Very nice," said Bellum as he shoved Ketura to the side and scooped up the golden sand so he could put it in a jar.

"YOU!"

Bellum looked up. The moment he did, he was slugged in the face by Ganondorf. He was knocked onto his back, and he labored to sit back up.

"Why, hello, Ganondorf," said Bellum with fake politeness. "I wonder: why did you just now punch me? I only took twenty percent of-"

"It's not Ketura's life force," snarled Ganondorf. "How dare you take advantage of a seventeen-year-old girl like that? Don't you think that Ketura had been through enough already?"

"I don't want to discuss any sexual activities that Ketura and I did together," said Bellum. "I'm just curious . . . how would the Triforce of Power fare against my power?"

"The Triforce of Power will win," said Ganondorf confidently. "No way can a creation of the gods beat their power."

"Really? Even a monster spawned from rich life force such as this?" asked Bellum, shaking the jar full of Ketura's life force. He reached into the jar, took a handful of golden sand, and tossed it into the air. The sand formed into another Darknut-like creature, complete with the blue armor.

Ganondorf ran around the red-armored knight, yanked the jar from Bellum's clutches, punched him in the face again, and ran to Ketura's side.

"What were you thinking?" he demanded, holding Ketura's head up by the chin.

"He threatened to . . . take Catherine's," said Ketura weakly.

"Quick, before that knight thing there decides to attack you or me, find a way to get this back into your body."

"You can't return life force back to the body!" called Bellum.

"I'll just prove my point to him, that nothing bests the power of the gods," said Ganondorf quickly as he placed his left hand over his right and removed the Triforce of Power. "Take it. It might renew your energy."

Ketura reached out her right hand and received the Triforce of Power. After a few seconds, she stood up, picked up her sword, and dueled with the knight, even though the knight had a much bigger sword, as well as a shield. All she did was evade its sword as the sword swung down onto the ground. She made it around behind it eventually, and an eye was protruding through the armor of its lower back. She stabbed the eye with her sword. The knight fell over and dissolved back into the golden sand.

"You lose, Bellum," she said proudly when she turned around and saw Bellum trapped in Ganondorf's stranglehold.

"No . . . I don't," said Bellum as he struggled to break free from Ganondorf's grasp. "I didn't pilot the ship here myself, you know. I have three more knights on board."

Indeed, when he finished speaking, three red-armored knights jumped down from the boat and advanced towards them. Ganondorf dropped Bellum and ran towards the cave, leaving Ketura alone.

"Look here, Ketura. You're all alone again." Bellum paced around Ketura, eyeing her the whole time. "It's interesting. The Triforce of Power seems to have replenished your life force. If you kept that, I could get limitless life force from you!"

"Why do you feel the need to destroy everything, Bellum?" asked Ketura.

"Even after the flood, the world is filled with people, and each and every one of them have evil in their hearts. You, your father, Ganondorf, the baby you're hiding - everyone deserves to die!"

"You know, Bellum, there was a time that I thought the very same thing," Ganondorf had reappeared behind him, Link at his side. "I grew out of it. You will too."

"I think not. I have learned that people are selfish and cowardly, and that will never change. Once a fruit goes rotten, there's no going back!"

"Again, you're wrong," said Link. "Now leave this island, or we'll have to kill you."

Bellum laughed as he pulled his left arm out of its coat sleeve and used his right arm to pull out a sword that was concealed. "I highly doubt that," he said. "You have no weapon, Link. Ganondorf has no weapon."

Ketura tossed the sword to Link. "Now he does. Ganondorf's strong enough, he doesn't need one."

"And you? What are you going to do, throw your baby at me?"

"I have the power of the gods, actually," said Ketura. She used the Triforce's magic to form a sword similar to the one she used to fight Zelda.

"Get them." Bellum ordered his knights. One knight took on Ketura, another Ganondorf, and another Link. Each of them had expected to take down their adversaries with ease, but they were sorely mistaken. Even when Ganondorf had stolen his enemy's sword, the knight resorted to thrusting its shield at him. Link couldn't move fast enough to look all over his knight to find a weak spot. Ketura noticed her father's behavior and paused to call to him "The back! There's an eye on its b -- ah!" The knight she was fighting exploited the moment so it could bash her in the head with its shield and slash her face. This slash ran at a diagonal, going from the small scar on her forehead down to her right jaw.

"Yup. It's not a fight without blood being spilled," she said while wiping blood off of her face. She dived underneath the knight's legs, got up, and stabbed its eye repeatedly until it fell and became sand.

Ganondorf never noticed that Ketura was hurt, so he just grabbed his knight's head and twisted it, snapping its neck in two. When it fell over onto its face, he stomped on its eye so it would dissolve into sand. He turned to Ketura, who jumped and began wiping her face with her sweater.

"It seems that I'm bested yet again," said Bellum sarcastically as Link's knight met its demise. Bellum reached into his jar and tossed out sand handful by handful until the three were surrounded by ten red-armored knights.

"Now, I know that Ketura can't die, but you two can," he continued, pointing at Link and Ganondorf. "My current hypothesis is that those with more vigor and energy have richer life forces, and for you to dispose of my phantom knights like that - very good.

"However, you're all outnumbered four to one right now. I promise that I won't create more knights to kill you all . . . if Ketura consents to come with me so I can drain her life force. Refuse, and I'll have them all attack."

"So, either way, you will end up with my life force," said Ketura. "Isn't there an option where you just let us go and live our lives?"

"Of course not!" said Bellum, his tone indicating that he found Ketura's notion absurd. "It's your choice, Ketura. Come with me, or everyone you love dies."

Ketura looked over to Link, who was shaking his head. She understood what he meant.

"Bellum, I refuse to be your prisoner." Ketura said plainly.

"I don't care if you refuse, Ketura. You'll end up my prisoner anyway. Or . . . another proposition. You can go free if one of these two consents to take your place."

"Deal." said Ganondorf without hesitation.

"No!" said Ketura.

"For once, Ketura, let me do something right." Ganondorf turned to Bellum. "If I go with you, do you promise to leave them alone?"

"Why, yes, I do . . . for the time being, of course." said Bellum with a chuckle. "You know that when my power is stronger, everyone will be my victim. But for now, they'll go away and live as happily as they can."

"Link, Ketura . . . go. Now." Ganondorf told them. Link turned to go to the boat, but Ketura stayed where she was.

"I'm not going to let you do this," she told Ganondorf coldly.

"Ketura, you still have your whole life ahead of you. I'm not going to let you throw it away because of how much you love others."

"How is that any different from what you're doing right now?"

"When you're five hundred and forty six, your life is pretty much over. I really don't care anymore whether I live or die." He faced Ketura, raised his hand, and stroked her cheek. "I lu-"

"I know!" shouted Ketura, taking a step back. "Now, I wish you didn't so much." She took another look at him, turned around, and ran to the boat.

Ganondorf watched as Ketura got onto the boat, got Catherine from the bridge, and looked his way again. She was holding up her right hand towards him, showing the Triforce crest on the back of her hand. He shook his head. Ketura continued to stare at him as Link manuevered the boat away from the island.

"Well, aren't you noble?" asked Bellum. "You must really love her, to give yourself up like this. And now, to break a promise . . . ." Before Ganondorf could move to stop him, Bellum shouted "FIRE!"

A cannonball shot from the ship towards the boat that carried the Lykos family. It hit the bow of the boat with such force that the boat turned vertical before capsizing and sinking.

Ganondorf watched with horror as the boat sank, so stunned he was rendered speechless.

"I told Ketura that she would be my prisoner, you know," said Bellum. "Unless she's stuck in the boat for eternity."

"Bellum . . . _why?" _asked Ganondorf, shaking with grief and rage.

"This way, you'll make less of a fuss when I drain your life force. It's all your fault, you know. If you hadn't agreed to take Ketura's place, then I wouldn't have made a promise that I would ultimately brake. Now, her father is dead, her daughter is dead, and she will probably remove the Triforce of Power and drown with them, and it is _all your fault." _He said the last three words with small pauses between them.

"You were once a powerful man, now look at you. Broken up over the loss of a teenager, of all people. You pathetic, miserable man.

"We should get on the ship, don't you think? I'm going to need a lot of hydramorte to take as much life force as I can from you."

--

Everything was blue.

Ketura still couldn't swim that well, so she was stuck underneath the boat, trying to think of a way to provide breatheable air for Catherine. She trusted in the Triforce of Power, and she made a small bubble big enough for Catherine's head, so she stuck Catherine's head into the bubble.

Link had swam over to Ketura. He grabbed her arm and tried to drag her with him to the surface, but he was visibly running out of air. Ketura made him a bubble before making herself one; even though drowning would be impossible for her, not being able to breathe is not a pleasant feeling. Plus, she didn't enjoy the sting of salt water on her open wound.

Ketura pushed her right hand against the boat, hoping that physical strength was part of having the power of the gods. When she saw that she was getting nowhere, she handed Catherine to Link and pointed up, signaling for him to go up to the surface. He obeyed.

She stayed below and pushed with both hands, praying mentally to Din for help and for Ganondorf. Almost immediately, she saw a flash of bright red light, and she was above the water line, flying into the air. She landed on a right-side-up boat along with Link and Catherine.

"Bellum said he wouldn't try to kill us," said Link with disappointment as he went to the controls. He stepped on the pedal, turned the steering wheel so the boat would go east, and sailed on.


	7. Six

**SIX**

Everything and everyone was dry aboard the _S.S. Lykos_ (as Link called the boat) in two hours underneath the ocean sun. Despite the sunny disposition of the weather, Ketura was far from happy right then. She was curled up inside of the bridge, cradling Catherine as always, when Link found her.

"Are you okay, Ketura?" asked Link.

"Do I look okay?" she asked him.

"Well, you're alive, but you're in a bad mood. I don't think you're okay. How are you feeling right now?"

"Angry," said Ketura. "At everything. At Ganondorf. At . . . Zelda." Ketura craned her head to the side so she could spit on the floor. "If it weren't for her, you'd have never gone to jail. You, me, and mom would still be together in Kakariko and be one happy family. I'd be living the normal life you want me to have. I wouldn't have so many darned scars. I wouldn't have had a baby yet. And I'd have normal friends: the kind of people who won't volunteer to get themselves killed because they think they're doing the right thing! Why have the gods decided to screw me over, Dad? What have I done to offend them?"

"I once wondered the same thing when I was in prison," Link sat down next to her. "I didn't offend the gods: I offended Zelda and Zant, who thought that they were gods. You didn't offend the gods either; you offended both Zelda and Bellum, the latter wanting to be like a god."

"He can't be godlike if he has an army with one common weakness. Gods have no weaknesses," said Ketura, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Ketura, I know you're upset because you won't see Ganondorf again. But you must understand why he did what he did."

"He's my friend," she muttered. "Oh, sweet Din, Mom was right. If you get too attached to someone, you will do crazy stuff for them, no matter how much risk you are put at personally."

"I learned from Midna that it's worth it," said Link. "We ran into Zant at Lake Hylia one time. He attacked me and then he attacked Midna by setting the Light Spirit Lanayru on her. By then, we were like brother and sister, so I didn't care that I was running across Hyrule in a blinding rainstorm past all sorts of foul monsters, over Telma's bar - I was turned into a wolf by Zant, and she doesn't care for big furry beasts - through the secret passageway to the castle, and I almost got killed by a Skulltula, only it didn't bite or sting me," he added quickly, seeing the stunned look on Ketura's face. "I did all that so Zelda could pass on some of her life to Midna."

"Why didn't she die then? The princess, that is."

"Well, Zelda vanished, and nobody knows what happened next. I don't, and I don't consider it that important.

"Anyways, Ketura, no matter how sad you get, you can't change the past. When people are gone, they're gone, and you have to move on with your life. Midna's not coming back, and Ganondorf's not coming back. Now come soak up some sun, and I'll tell you some stories about my adventure."

"Do you have any scars?"

"You bet I do. Only they're not on my face."

--

There was a story to each of Link's scars. There was one on his side that he got from a possessed monkey that had hit him with an equally possessed boomerang; there was a burn just below his navel from a monster called Fyrus in the Goron Mines; he had stings on his arm from a jellyfish in Lake Hylia; one on his scalp because that was where Zant had first inserted the crystal of dark energy that Link had kept; a scar went straight across his shoulder that was the remnants of an attack by a frightening ghost called Death Sword; he had been hit square in the chest by a ball-and-chain wielded by a heavily armored knight at Snowpeak; an Ironknuckle had struck him on his left side with its sword; there was another burn on his collarbone from the great dragon Argorok; there were multiple wounds in the abdomen that had all come from Zant; and a big slash on his back accompanied by a puncture wound that were given to him by Ganon.

"Wow," said Ketura as she listened to her father's final story. "She just - shattered it with her teardrop?"

"Yes. That's the kind of power she had," said Link. "Midna believed that light and shadow were like oil and water: the two cannot and should not mix."

"The Twilight was kind of beautiful, though," reminisced Ketura. "What would have been so bad about the perpetual Twilight?"

"In time, Ketura, life in our world would deteriorate. Because there wasn't any sun, plants would die, meaning crops would fail. Livestock would have no grass to eat, so they would die. Us people would have no plants or animals to live on. We'd starve to death . . . or commit suicide, because the lack of sunlight would have depressed us."

"Oh," said Ketura in comprehension.

"Hey look, there we are!" said Link as he looked out at the horizon. A windmill sat on an island, and it was surrounded by a walled-up town that only took up the northern half of the island. As the boat got closer, Ketura saw some people walking around outside the wall, standing under a tree, or kids playing a game.

Home sweet home.


	8. Seven

**SEVEN**

Link docked the boat at the dock and led the search for his old house. As they passed through town, the people gave Ketura strange looks, and she assumed that it was because of the scars on her face. Finally, Link found their house on the western side of town not too far from a narrow cliff with a gravestone on it.

"Drat!" said Link as he shook the doorknob. "It's locked. Is there any chance that you have a key?"

Ketura shook her head, then waved her hand as a motion to tell Link to get out of her way. She took the doorknob and pushed; the door opened without a fuss. "Thank you, Triforce of Power," she said before going inside.

The house was the same way that it had been last time she was here with Midna on their way to Death Mountain. Her personal area of the house was up on the loft as always, with the living room below it, the kitchen to its left. The first thing Ketura did was climb up the ladder, put Catherine down on her bed, and go to her closet. Making sure that her father wasn't looking, she took off her pants and put a long brown skirt on instead. She then took off her sweater and swapped it out for a cream-colored blouse with decorative red trimmings around the sleeve cuffs, neckline, and hem. She never liked this blouse too much, but it was the only thing that would fit her now. She also found some of her old baby clothing: a powder blue dress with matching booties that fit Catherine perfectly once she was changed into them.

"Ketura, I'm going to go get a job," called Link from below. "You can stay home if you want to."

"I'll do that," said Ketura, plopping down on her bed with Catherine wriggling around on her lap. It was only a little more than a year, but it felt like an eternity since Ketura was last here at this house. It felt haunted, like the ghost of the past Ketura still lived in this home. The Ketura who was younger, more innocent, reluctantly content with her life . . . she was gone now.

--

Link had gotten himself a job at the local Malo Mart (the owner of the store, Malo, was one of Link's friends growing up) and Ketura decided to go out into town the next day in an attempt to make some friends, taking Catherine with her. She first met a burly teenage boy with short brown hair.

"Um, hi," she said sheepishly.

"Hey there," said the boy. "I'm Johann. Is your name as pretty as your face?"

"Ketura," said Ketura, blushing. "And this is Catherine, my daughter -"

Johann walked away upon hearing the word "daughter."

"Wait, I'm not married!" said Ketura hastily. "I was -"

"Sorry, Ketura," said Johann, turning around. "No need to finish that last sentence. The scars tell me everything."

Ketura nodded at him.

"I don't think I've seen you before. Do you want to meet my friends?"

"Um, okay."

Johann led Ketura to the center of town. There, some other teenage boys and girls were congregated around a tree. He pointed out each of them individually: Michael was a tall, lanky redhead; William wore sunglasses, and it was explained that he was blind; Ivana was petite, pretty, and blonde, and she was Johann's girlfriend; Marie was Michael's girlfriend, and she was almost as tall as he was; Bella was married to William.

"Hey, who's this?" asked Ivana suspiciously upon seeing Ketura.

"My name's Ketura Lykos," said Ketura. "And this is my daughter, Catherine."

"Where's your husband?" inquired Ivana, still suspicious.

"I have no husband."

"Did he die?" said Marie.

"I was never married to begin with."

"Boyfriend?" asked Michael.

"No boyfriend."

"Then how did you end up with a daughter?" said Bella.

"See, when two people engage in intercourse, there is a chance that a woman can -"

"We know how babies are born," snapped Ivana. "Who is your baby's father?"

"That's a story I'd rather not tell," said Ketura.

"What about those scars on your face?" questioned Michael.

"I got into a fight with a guy who just happened to have a sword."

"Oh, so you're a tough girl, huh?" asked Bella. "What's that on your hand?"

Ketura looked at her right hand. "Skin," she said with sass, even though she knew that Bella meant the Triforce crest.

"No, not skin. That drawing that looks like the Triforce," said Ivana.

"It's a tattoo," lied Ketura.

"A tattoo of the Triforce? That's illegal, you know." Bella informed her.

"Where is it illegal?"

"You know what, Ketura," interjected Ivana, "You should take your freakishness and go home now, if you even live on this island. Face it: you'll never fit in here. That blouse is so out of style, your beauty is gone, and you're fat."

"Excuse me?"

"You're excused," sassed Ivana. "Bye bye. Don't ever speak to me or any of us again."

Ketura inhaled deeply, then turned around before whipping back around and punching Ivan square in the nose. Ivana staggered back, her hand over her nose; Johann caught her before she fell over.

"You --!" squealed Ivana, calling Ketura a nasty name. "You broke my nose bone!"

"Noses don't have bones, ditzy," said Ketura angrily. "And after what you just called me, I don't want to fit in with you all anyway. Good day to you all!" She turned around and strode off briskly before anyone could see her cry.

--

"Hey look, it's the artist!" jeered Johann as a young man with shaggy black hair popped out of a nearby building. "What have you been painting, Nathan?"

"I just heard someone squeal and say a bad name. What happened?" said Nathan with concern.

"We don't need your help," said Ivana, hand still to nose. "You need to stay out of things that don't concern you."

"Ivana, what happened?"

"That - that - _freak - _punched me. I called her a freak, and ugly, and fat, and she punched me!" Ivana started to sob.

"You brought it upon yourself, then," deduced Nathan before going back into his art studio.

--

When Link came home from work, he found Catherine wriggling around on the coffee table and Ketura curled up on the sofa, crying silently.

"Are you okay, Ketura?" he asked, sitting down next to his daughter.

"No I'm not." Ketura said shortly. "I tried to make friends with the people here my age, Dad. But they're so nosy about my scars, and Catherine. And there's this one girl, Ivana . . . I don't know who I hate more, her or Bellum. She called me a freak!"

"Ketura, you're not a freak," said Link consolingly, rubbing her back.

"Yes I am. The other girls in town don't have babies. The other girls have boyfriends or husbands, they're thin, and they're beautiful. I wish I was still beautiful."

"Pfft. Don't talk like that, Ketura. Even with your weight gained during the pregnancy and those lines across your face, you're still beautiful. I'm not lying. Don't let anyone tell you differently. Besides, if those other kids are rejecting you because of your appearance, you don't want them for friends anyway."

"Thanks, Dad." Ketura said before reaching over to hug Link. "What should I say next time someone asks me about Catherine?"

"The truth, and if they ask about the father, tell them it's personal."

"That's what I did," said Ketura. "They must all think I used to sleep around or something."

Link laughed. "I bet there are other teens in town that you can check out tomorrow."

--

Ketura avoided Ivana, Johann, and everyone else in their little gang the next day; she found nobody else, though, so she found her way into an art studio with paintings for sale.

The studio had paintings crammed on every available centimeter of wall of many subjects; she recognized a painting of monkeys playing in a forest. Blank canvases lay strewn on the floor along with buckets of paint and brushes. Upon turning around to see the paintings on the wall she was closest to, she was startled to see two things: almost bare wall, except for one painting . . . of _her_. She walked up to it and studied the painting; was that how she looked without scars on her face?

She jumped as the door opened. In came a young man carrying a canvas which bore the portrait of a mountain rising out of the ocean.

"Oh, hi there," he said. "That painting's not for sale . . . Ketura Lykos?"


	9. Eight

I would like to open this chapter by apologizing to my fans for making them wait this long for a new chapter. I was out of town for a week, away from a computer with internet access.

**--**

**EIGHT**

"Hi, Nathan," said Ketura, suddenly remembering who he was: Nathan Alvarez, the south road painter who had briefly charmed her, but was pushing for romance when she was unwilling. Their last meeting at a ball concluded in Nathan kissing her.

"You didn't die! And you didn't leave Hyrule," he said, putting his canvas on the floor with the others. "Dear Farore, what happened to your face?"

"I got into a fight with Zant, but I killed him," said Ketura proudly.

"Still gorgeous," remarked Nathan. "I want the whole story: from the good-bye kiss to now."

"It's crazy, all of it," said Ketura, sitting on the stool in front of the easel. "You might not believe any of it, but if you need proof, I have it.

"After everyone left, I ran into Zant and the Queen, who had captured everyone. We all got into a fight, I killed Zant, and ran to the top of the Tower behind the castle. I put the Master Sol back, restoring day and night as normal, then I ran into Zelda. We fought, she stabbed me, I fell off of the tower and broke some bones. A few days later, I wake up on a ship with bandages all over my body. I stay on the ship for three months with my dad and our host, a guy named Bellum . . . my dad had a turnarourd, and we love each other again.

"Anyway, my dad had to leave the ship for a time after the flood, and Bellum saw that as his chance to . . . ."

"To what?" asked Nathan curiously.

"See this baby here?" asked Ketura, holding up Catherine for him to see.

"Oh . . . I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I was being dumb. He threatened to kill my dad if I didn't. Well, two weeks later, my dad comes back and I tell him that I'm pregnant. We leave the ship and spend the next nine months out at sea. During a really bad storm a few days ago, I went into labor and had Catherine. Two days ago, Bellum found us, we got into a fight, and we got away and came here."

"Ketura, that story doesn't sound crazy at all. However, I feel that you've left something out. How did you wind up on that ship in the first place? Why did your dad leave the ship for a while? Did you kill Bellum?"

"The answers to those questions . . . that's the crazy part." Ketura sighed.

"Well?" asked Nathan after a long hesitation.

"I had a . . . friend," said Ketura solemnly, staring down at Catherine. "He got me to the ship, then he left the ship, believing that it was for my own good. Now, he's Bellum's prisoner." She saturated the last statement with anger. Before she knew it, tears began to fall. "I hate Bellum and his plan to destroy all life in the world. I hate him for taking Ganondorf away from me!"

"Ganondorf?" interrupted Nathan. "As in . . . the King of Evil, who tried to conquer Hyrule three times?"

"It's Bellum who's the evil one!" snapped Ketura indignantly. "He threatened to kill them unless I surrendered to him, and Ganondorf surrendered for me!"

"I figured as much," said Nathan calmly. "Now, I think we need to end this conversation before you get any more upset."

"I'm sorry, Nathan," lamented Ketura. "It's just . . . I feel so alone. I know now that people were meant to have relationships with one another, but I feel as if I'm being neglected when it comes to having a steady friend."

"I'll be your friend, Ketura," offered Nathan.

She nodded, a smile gradually forming across her face. She got up, placed Catherine down on the stool, and threw her arms around Nathan. He returned the motion.

"I assume you're the freak Ivana was complaining about yesterday," he said in an effort to lighten the mood.

"You assume correctly," said Ketura, chortling. She stepped back to break the hug. "I don't want anything to do with her or any of those other teenagers on this island."

"That's wise, but they all more or less run the place. Johann's technically a nobleman, since his dead father was one. Michael's father got rich in the mining business after the Gorons disappeared. And Bella, believe it or not, is the late Queen's sister."

"Her _sister?_" gaped Ketura, thinking about Bella's golden brown hair and eyes of a similar color. She looked nothing like Zelda.

"Younger sister, yes, but illegitimate. She was sent away the moment she left the womb, living in some obscure corner of Castle Town. However, not being in line for the throne meant she could marry for love, a privilege denied her sister. She and William got married and adopted Zelda's illegitimate child. The kid ran away from home not too long ago, though . . . ."

"Hmm, no wonder she was nosy about this," said Ketura, running her fingers along the Triforce crest on her hand. "She had a child?"

"Yes. She was quite taken with one of the prisoners."

"Wow . . . ."

"What's that on your hand?"

"Oh, this," Ketura pointed at the Triforce crest. She placed her left hand on top of her right to remove the Triforce of Power so Nathan could have a better look at it. "It's the Triforce of Power." She absorbed it back into her body.

"No, not that. That ring."

"I found it on the beach and thought it was pretty." Ketura lied quickly. "Now, I'm sick of being the center of attention. Let's talk about you."

"Well, I came here with my mother and Telma before the flood. A few months ago there was an epidemic of some influenza, and my mother and Telma both died from it. I've been painting this whole time."

"Like that painting of the volcano to the east of here?" asked Ketura.

"Yeah. Death Mountain as an island; who knew?"

"Zoras live on that island," said Ketura. "I stopped by to visit them once while I was pregnant, and they found the ocean too vast for them, as well as some danger out in the ocean. Dad and I assumed they meant Bellum. You still have the monkeys in the forest that I watched you paint!"

"Yeah,"

Ketura spent a good amount of the day watching Nathan put some finishing touches on his painting of Death Mountain Island, then she explained Bellum's plan to him, and that they were temporarily safe from harm. In the middle of the afternoon, she started to go home with Catherine. Outside the door of Nathan's studio, however, Bella was waiting.

"Hey, Ketura," she said.

"Um, hi, Bella." Ketura responded sheepishly.

"Look, I want to apologize for Ivana's behavior yesterday. I'm sorry about everything my sister's done to Hyrule. You and everyone else were right to conspire against her -"

"You remember the conspiracy?" asked Ketura incredulously.

Bella nodded. "I would have come to you all as well, if it weren't for William. You know that he's blind and needs help. But anyways, I have looked out at the sea the past few months and seen a black ship with an eye symbol on the sails . . . and something doesn't feel right about that ship."

"Nothing's right about that ship." Ketura said quickly. "Its captain is an evil man who wants to destroy mankind."

"Well, since you have the Triforce of Power, I'll trust you about that. Also, I hope that with the Triforce of Power, you will use it to defend us if anything dangerous comes from that ship."

"Trust me, it'll be more than defense," promised Ketura. "But, how do you know -"

"Again, Ketura, I'm sorry. I've eavesdropped on your conversations all day long," sighed Bella remorsefully.

"It's not that big a deal," said Ketura. "Why did your nephew - I mean, son, run away?"

"He's only twelve, but he wanted to go see the world now that it's a big old ocean," said Bella, rolling his eyes. "Ever since the day of the flood, when that piece of the Triforce of Wisdom came to him, he's acted differently. He had never shown any desire for even leaving our house before."

"The Triforce of Wisdom? How?"

"We have wondered the exact same thing, Ketura. I believe that Zelda saw her death coming and took steps to preserve the Triforce of Wisdom. That's the exact thing that she -- YOU'RE CORRECT TO APOLOGIZE TO ME, YOU LITTLE WHORE! DON'T DO AS MUCH AS LOOK AT ME AGAIN!" Ketura didn't understand what Bella was up to at first, but she understood upon turning around and seeing Ivana, Johann, and William. She turned back to Bella, who lightly winked.

--

Ketura went home so Catherine could have a nap. During this time, she did some tidying up around the house, sweeping and dusting along with some laundry. She found herself rooting in the closet again, and silently mourned her old clothes that wouldn't fit anymore. She set aside her favorite articles of clothing, and put the rest in a bag to take to the marketplace the next day to sell.

_Perhaps if I lost my extra weight, I could wear my old clothes again._

Link came home later that afternoon. "Find anyone else to make friends with?"

"Yeah, I did," said Ketura. "I met a guy named Nathan. He's a painter, and he's really nice."

"That's good. How old is he?"

"I don't know. He should be . . . eighteen, I think. I met him before, when he was seventeen."

"Oh, you've met before?" asked Link with mild amusement.

"We kind of went to that ball together. He kind of had a crush on me - he might still. But we're just friends, Dad."

"Ketura, I think it's great that you have a new friend. If you two want to fall in love later on -"

"Dad!"

"I won't stop you. But I'm warning you, Ketura: you're a teenager. You'll have these kind of feelings eventually. They may not be for Nathan, but it's bound to happen."

"Yeah, sure," Ketura's tone was flat.

"Ketura?" Link sat down on the sofa and motioned for Ketura to join him. "Is something wrong?"

"Everything feels that way," admitted Ketura. "I don't know about having a new friend, Dad. I don't want him to end up loving me so much that he'll practically die for me. I don't want any more people getting hurt or dying because of me."

"But Ketura, I seriously doubt there will be a whole lot of opportunities on this island for Nathan to jump in front of a speeding arrow to save your life at the expense of his. As long as we stay here, we are more or less safe." Link looked out the window to see the twilight in the sky. "I'll be back shortly," he said, getting up and leaving the house.

Maybe Link was right. Maybe they were safe on the island . . . until Bellum came around, and who knew how long that would be. Perhaps Nathan was a little bit selfish deep down inside. Perhaps Ganondorf had escaped from Bellum and had already killed him.

Ketura shouldn't have let her mind wander to Ganondorf. She curled up on the couch, remembering everything from his sarcastic tendencies to the gentle look in his eyes that came whenever they fell upon her.

_I need to accept it,_ she told herself firmly. _Never again will I hear his voice. Never again will I feel his arms around me. He is in the past, although the future is unclear._

She stood up and was moving to go outside when Link came back in.

"I guess I should have explained where I went," he said. "That gravestone out there actually marks Midna's grave, believe it or not. I was just out there praying for her soul and remembering the good things about her."

Ketura nodded in acknowledgment before going outside. She looked at Midna's grave before sitting down on the edge of the cliff overlooking the water.

She took the ring on her right middle finger off and tossed it into the sea.


	10. Nine

**NINE**

"I'm amazed that you don't fight back," observed Bellum as he re-entered the cabin where Ganondorf was held hostage. He had with him some bottles of hydramorte and his largest syringe, with a needle the size of a pencil.

"I surely thought that you planned to give yourself up so that when the two of us were alone, you would kill me. But . . . I guess not."

Ganondorf sat on the bed, looking down at the floor. The sight of the boat with the Lykos family on it capsizing was still fresh in his mind, along with his last look at Ketura's face . . . .

Bellum approached his captive, filled the syringe with hydramorte, and plunged the needle into Ganondorf's arm. After the initial shock of pain, Ganondorf felt some of the life in his body move up to his mouth before being expelled in the form of brass-colored sand. Then, weakness consumed him, forcing him to lay down on his side.

"What a nice color. How . . . rich." commented Bellum as he collected the life force. "This is only thirty percent, yet you can't stand to face me. So I shall tell you this: I saw all three of them sail away completely unharmed. Link, the baby, and Ketura. So you bought them some more time. But mark my words: I will find my way around the Triforce of Power and kill her along with all the other scummy people in the world."

"There are . . . good people . . . ." protested Ganondorf with fatigue.

"If apples can go rotten, so can people. Now, I'm going to leave you alone for a while and see if any life force replenishes. I'll be back tomorrow."

--

The feeling of fatigue was all-consuming, yet Ganondorf could not sleep. All day, he felt no desire to eat or drink either. He wanted to die. He didn't want Bellum to get any more of his life force.

In his head, he pictured Ketura. Not the sad, scarred teenage mother that she was now; he liked to think of her the way he met her: impulsive and curious, beautiful and a little wise beyond her years. He remembered how she looked in Castle Town after her hands were burned, and a conversation that they once had while he held her close to him.

_"Why are you willing to be my friend when you know what I am capable of?" Ganondorf asked her._

_"You're willing to be mine," yawned Ketura. "I don't want to be alone anymore."_

_"Don't worry. After this is all over, neither of us will ever be alone again."_

It was an easy promise to make at the time, but now, he realized the kind of lie it was.

_I lied to Ketura,_ he thought sadly. _I'm alone._

Before he could control his memories, he saw her smashed onto the ground in Castle Town, her broken body covered in blood. That was never going to happen again for certain, but it still hurt to think of what his foolishness caused her.

--

He lost track of all time, trying to summon the strength to tie a loop in the blanket big enough to fit around his neck. He succeeded eventually, and had the makeshift noose around his neck, and was just about ready to pull on it when the door burst open.

"I won't have that," said Bellum as he set down his bottles and removed the blanket noose. "You are not going to commit suicide on me. I need your life force too much. Speaking of which . . . not quite yet. I'll give you a few more days until I check on you again." He left the room, taking the blanket with him.

Ganondorf curled up on the bed and thought about Ketura some more. He had told Ketura that he agreed with Link that she should get married, but that was not what he wanted . . . .

He didn't want Ketura to forget about him. On the contrary, he wanted Ketura to hold on to his memory, even if it was in vain, like chasing after the wind. He wanted her one day, when she was older, to be his and his alone. However, the ocean had a better chance of drying up than him being romantically involved with Ketura.

Perhaps, by holding on, he was the one chasing after the wind.


	11. Ten

**TEN**

Every morning during the next month, before the sun rose, Ketura would leave the house and jog around the island two or three times. She also revamped her diet, eating mostly fruits and vegetables. Link noticed her behavior and grew mildly suspicious.

"Trying to lose weight?" he asked on the morning of March 8th.

"A little, yes," she answered. "I used to feel really . . . self-conscious about myself, but not so much anymore,"

"Are you doing this for yourself . . . or for Nathan?"

"Dad, I'm not into romance!"

"Okay, sure, whatever." Link wanted to ask Ketura why she and Catherine spent the day with Nathan at his art studio on a regular basis, but the whole conversation felt awkward enough already.

--

Being confronted by her father about her new health regime was probably one of the strangest conversations with her parents, other than when Ilia explained the facts of life to her when she was twelve. But nonetheless, she packed herself a lunch, some diapers for Catherine, and went over to Nathan's art studio.

Today, Nathan had moved his easel out of the way, stacked up his paintings neatly and lined them along the walls, and was working at a pottery wheel. Several drying pots and jars were set on a tarp.

"Hey there, Ketura," he said as he heard the door open. "I'm trying out pottery."

"Interesting," said Ketura as she walked over to him. "Why?"

"Just needed a change," he said as he shaped a vase. "That, and I need some money to buy a real house to live in. There's that spot by the windmill I've had my eye on for some time."

"You don't live here?" asked Ketura, eyeing the staircase in the back of the room. "I always assumed that -"

"No, it's an elderly couple that lives upstairs. They don't go out very often, and they graciously let me use this space to work and live." He took the vase off of the wheel and set it down on the tarp to the side. "Just wait for it to dry," he said to himself. "Do you want to try, Ketura?"

"Um, sure," said Ketura, laying Catherine down and sitting at the wheel. Nathan took a piece of clay the size of an apple and explained how to work the wheel. He guided Ketura's hands when it came to shaping. Even though it was meant to be plain instruction, there was something about the way he touched her hands . . . .

In the end, Ketura had produced a small, lopsided bowl.

"Not bad for your first try," said Nathan, handing her a wet towel so she could wipe the clay off of her hands. "Say, what happened to that ring you were wearing?"

"I lost it," she lied. _Why must he be so observant?_

"What a shame," commented Nathan. "I've been wondering about that for a couple of weeks, actually."

Ketura said nothing, and they both endured a moment of silence until Nathan broke it.

"You look really nice today."

Ketura blushed and smiled.

--

After the clay dried, Nathan got out his paint and painted his pottery. Ketura volunteered to help, and she painted in solid colors before Nathan added intricate patterns. When it was time for lunch, Bella entered the studio, William on her arm. William was saying something to her.

"There was no need to be so rude to her, dear."

"Not now, William. Hello, Ketura, Nathan."

"Hi," said Ketura. Nathan nodded to acknowledge their presence.

"Nathan, do you mind if William and I stay here for the rest of the day? I got into a fight with Ivana, and she'll probably go to our house looking for us. Johann will probably be with her."

"Johann's violent," muttered Nathan. "Sure, you can hang out. Ketura and I were just painting some vases."

"What did you say to Ivana that was so rude?" asked Ketura with interest.

"She was whining about her crooked nose, and I told her that she wouldn't have it if she wasn't such a --" she used a nasty name "-- to you. So she got mad and tried to punch me in the nose, but I was a little quick for her."

"Odds are she's going to have Johann break your nose for her, Bella," said William, who obviously disapproved of his wife's actions.

"Not if I can help it," said Ketura, who was off to the side as she changed Catherine's diaper.

"No, don't you get involved," rebuked William. "You've caused enough trouble."

Someone pounded on the door. Nobody said a word.

"BELLA! GET YOUR BUTT OUT HERE!" Johann's voice raged.

Ketura got up and went to the door. She opened it and let Johann step through. He saw Bella and spoke again.

"Ivana told me that you called her some bad name," he accused. "Although, I think that it's _you_ who's the --. Why else would Lucas run away?"

Bella said nothing in return.

"Can't you just let it go?" asked Ketura. "It's just her nose."

"No, I can't. You broke her nose, Ketura. So I'll just have to break yours!" Johann flung his fist towards Ketura's face, but she dodged just in time. She handed Catherine to Bella and ran outside, waiting for Johann to come get her. He dashed her way, but she evaded him yet again and watched him crash into the tree. When he pulled himself back together, Johann charged again. This time, instead of getting out of the way, Ketura grabbed his face and flung him to the ground. Some people passing by stopped and watched this.

"O Gods . . . ouch . . . how does so much strength come from such a tiny body?"

"The Triforce of Power, of course," answered Ketura.

"Yeah right!" Ivana was storming towards her; the crook in her nose was quite prominent. "The only person to ever hold the Triforce of Power is the evil one who destroyed Hyrule!"

"He didn't destroy Hyrule, Ivana. The gods did. And I do have it." Ketura showed the Triforce crest. "So if I were you, I wouldn't mess with me, or Nathan, or Bella, or William. Pass the message on to Michael and Marie, will you?"

"But . . . _how?"_

"That's a story for another day. Goodbye." Ketura turned around and went back inside, where she explained to Bella and William how she got the Triforce of Power.

--

"I hear you caused quite a stir in town today," said Link when he came home from work. "You beat up a boy, Ketura?"

"He was messing with me, so I defended myself."

"Did he attack you first?"

"Yes, he did, Dad."

"Ketura, you're lucky that he wasn't seriously hurt and that there are no authorities on the island. Johann's popular among the townspeople. Factor in Johann's social status, and -"

"Dad, I don't give a care about his social status. He's a jerk who needed putting down," Ketura interrupted as she rocked Catherine to sleep. "And I'm not looking for popularity. I'm done trying to make friends, Dad. There's only three other people on this rock that I like."

"Fine then, Ketura. You know I'm only looking out for you. If you're really happier this way . . . ."

"I am," she looked out the window. "It's almost twilight, dad."

Link got up and went outside to Midna's grave. Ketura climbed up the ladder with one hand, holding Catherine in the other, and placed the sleeping baby in her cradle.


	12. Eleven

**ELEVEN**

Every year in Kakariko Village, the townspeople had a festival celebrating the arrival of summer. Ketura never attended the festival as she grew up due to her mother's disapproval. So naturally, she was a tad skittish when Nathan invited her to go to the festival with him.

"You'll have fun," he promised her; it was two days before the festival.

"It's a party. I don't party." Ketura complained.

"How do you know? You've only been to one."

"One was enough."

"Please, Ketura. This time there's no tyrant queen to be assassinated, nobody is in any danger . . . any immediate danger," he added upon seeing her skeptical glare. "Ketura, you've done nothing but worry about Bellum ever since you came here. You need one day of nothing but fun. It'll keep your mind off of him."

"Ugh . . . _fine_," she agreed grudgingly. "But what about Catherine?"

"She can come, your dad will just have to take care of her."

Ketura sighed at the idea. "Will there be . . . _dancing_ at this festival?" she cringed at the thought of it.

Nathan didn't answer.

--

"Ketura, you should go to the festival by yourself," Link suggested to her. "You work hard with Nathan at his studio and with raising Catherine. You deserve a day off."

"Are you going to go, Dad?"

"No. Someone has to watch Catherine while you're gone."

"Dad -"

"Don't argue with me, Ketura. Can you try to have a good time tomorrow? You've done nothing but work and worry about Bellum coming to kill everyone."

Ketura shook her head in disbelief. _I can't believe this is happening to me. If only _he_ were here . . . he wouldn't make me do this._

--

That afternoon, Ketura met up with Bella at a dress shop (Nathan was with William) so they could each buy a new dress to wear to the festival.

"Let's hope we don't run into Ivana," muttered Bella. Since the episode with Johann, the eight teenagers and young adults on the island were split into two groups: Ivana, Johann, Michael, and Marie in one group, Ketura, Nathan, Bella, and William in another. The other townspeople treated these two groups like they were rival gangs, and some were especially afraid of Ketura because Ivana told them about her Triforce of Power, and many assumed that she was somehow connected to Ganondorf.

"I know. I can't stand it if she says that I slept with him and had Catherine by him," spat Ketura; the thought of it made her sick.

"Again," finished Bella.

The dress shop was small, with racks along the walls and all over the room with dresses galore hung on them, all arranged by color. There were different styles of dresses: long and short, poofy and slender, sleeves and no sleeves, straps and no straps, V-necklines and square necklines and round necklines, all in many varieties of color.

"They don't have anything in black, it looks like," said Ketura with disappointment.

"Black, to a festival? You need color." Bella rushed to the rack with the reds and pinks on it and started shifting through.

"Bella, I'm not wearing pink."

"I'm looking for me. You go look for you."

Ketura went over to the rack with the greens and started looking at each one. She was dismayed; either the style wasn't what she wanted, or it was the wrong color. She moved on to the blues and immediately saw a columbia blue dress that caught her eye. It looked like it would go past her knees a little, and was in her size.

She took it to the saleswoman and bought the dress for twenty rupees, and waited for Bella to come back with a lavender gown. Both the women went to their homes afterwards, narrowly avoiding Marie. Marie noticed them walk by, but didn't follow. Instead, she went into the dress shop.

--

The day of the festival was here. Ketura got ready quickly and waited for Nathan to come pick her up. At around nine o'clock, Nathan made it to her house. He was holding in his hand a boquet of flowers.

"Hi, Ketura," he said.

"Um . . . hi. Are those flowers for me?" asked Ketura, eying the lilies, lavenders, and roses in the boquet.

"Yes, they are." He held out the flowers out to her.

"Thanks," said Ketura as she went into the kitchen, took a vase, filled it with water, and stuck the flowers inside. "Where did you find the flowers?"

"The elderly couple that lives above my studio keeps a garden up on their roof, and I bought these from them . . . you know, that dress really brings out your gorgeous eyes," he noticed.

"Thanks again. Shall we get this over with?"

Ketura stepped outside the house with Nathan, and she felt no surprise or opposition when he took her hand and held it as they walked into town. The center of the village had been transformed into an explosion of color and life, with decorations on the buildings and the tree. Pavilions were also set up that all sold assorted goods. A small band was set up as well.

"What happened to the place overnight?" she asked out loud.

"Quite literally, people spent all night setting up. The poor people aren't getting enough sleep. But then again, nobody is. The party lasts all the way until dawn tomorrow."

Ketura shook her head.

It seemed like everyone on the island - all thirty of them - had turned out for the festival. Adults stood around and talked, children ran around playing, and it wasn't long until the two found Bella and William. The four staked out a table that was set up outside of the cafe before going to enjoy the festival.

Ketura did wind up enjoying herself a little, even if people did give her funny looks every now and then; it wasn't hard with Nathan around to show her everything there was to be shown. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have noticed the dunk tank, and she wouldn't have experienced the thrill of seeing Nathan being drenched to the bone as he fell into the tub of water. However, the force of her throwing the ball had broken off the top half of the target.

"Stupid power," she grumbled as everyone gave her the look that clearly said that they were disappointed with her.

They then moved on to a shooting gallery primarily for preteens, but Nathan showed interest for whatever reason, so Ketura helped him aim . . . and he was a little peeved that he couldn't claim a singlehanded victory.

"I wish there was something I could do," William whined eventually; Bella patted his arm soothingly and led him away.

"Well, Nathan, I have to admit it, this is pretty fun," she said.

"See? I told you."

Around noon, the two ate lunch with William and Bella (they had gone off to a pavilion with an activity that didn't require looking at something) before the band started playing.

"Why is a band playing?" asked Ketura suspiciously.

"Come on," said Nathan, taking Ketura's hand and leading her out to the big open area. The band started playing a fast waltz. "Time to dance," he added quickly.

"What?" But Ketura stopped when Nathan's hand found the small of her back and placed itself there.

The waltz began, and Ketura tried the best she could to move with Nathan while still staying in time with the music. Luckily, she didn't step on his feet.

"You're doing pretty well," said Nathan.

"Thanks," said Ketura sheepishly. She was going to say something else, but she forgot what it was when Nathan's brown eyes met her blue ones. There was this look in them, that radiated kindness and longing. She jolted her head to the side to break the stare. It had been a long time since someone looked at her in that way.

"Something wrong? You seem uncomfortable." Nathan stopped moving.

"No, nothing's wrong. It's just . . . how do you feel towards me?" asked Ketura, dreading the answer. What if Nathan still felt the way he did at the ball?

"I see you and love you as my best friend, and that's all. Why, are you afraid that I still had a crush on you?" He sounded nervous as he spoke.

"Not really. Nathan, I think of you as my best friend too." Ketura shuddered at the word _love._

Nathan smiled.

The waltz ended, and the band started a slow tango.

"Oh, tango!" said Nathan excitedly. "Just keep up with the music and let me do all of the work, okay?"

Ketura let Nathan do just that as he led the two through a tango dance. "No, go the same way I'm going," "Okay, _now_ you stepped on my foot."

When the song ended, Ketura and Nathan decided to get something to drink. She got some red wine while Nathan stuck to grape juice. They sat in relative silence as they drank their beverages, then Ketura spotted Ivana heading her way, Marie tagging along.

"Crap," she muttered.

"Enjoying the festival, Ketura?" asked Ivana with a sneer. "Or are looking for more men to seduce?"

"Look, Ivana, I'm not a . . . girl who does stuff like that," Ketura explained. "Why are you spreading rumors that I had sex with Ganondorf to get the Triforce of Power? He wouldn't give it up so easily."

"It's payback for what you did to my face!" Ivana snapped, pointing at her nose. "And since no physical pain can come your way, I decided to just spread some gossip."

"You can't be serious," scoffed Ketura, appalled.

"And it's funny, because with your baby daughter and lack of husband or boyfriend, _everyone believes it._" Marie said confidently.

"Marie, I never did anything to you."

"True, but Ivana is my friend, and I stick with her. Plus, Ketura, I bet you didn't know this, but your father works for my father. Your father told my father just how close you were. That makes the story even more plausible!"

"I swear Ivana, stop spreading these rumors or the next part of you that I'll break will be your neck." Ketura threatened acidly.

"Ketura, calm down," said Nathan, taking the glass of wine out of her hands. He then addressed Ivana and Marie. "Do you two want the true story behind her baby? She was raped."

"By who?" jeered Ivana.

"The monster's name is Bellum," said Ketura, coating Bellum's name with hatred.

Ivana just laughed. "What a pathetic way to cover up that lie!"

"Okay, then, while we're covering up stories," Nathan went on, obviously up to something. "Do you let people know that -" he raised his voice so nearby people could hear "-YOU ONLY WANT JOHANN'S MONEY, IVANA?"

Ivana gasped, maddened that Nathan had revealed this secret. People turned around to look at Ivana, equally startled.

"Well, we're quite the scum, aren't we, Ivana?" added Ketura. "A whore and a gold digger."

Johann ran towards them; he obvioulsy heard Nathan's accusation. "Ivana, is this true? You only want my money?"

"Of course not!" Ivana said quickly; plainly a lie. "Have I ever asked for money before?"

"Twice," recalled Johann. "But you have to give something back."

Ketura burst out laughing. "Wow!" she was barely able to fit in the interjection. "And you give me grief!"

"I meant love and attention, you idiot." snapped Johann.

"Ivana, you should be ashamed of yourself!" a middle-aged woman stopped by and gave this reproach. "How dare you say ugly things about another girl when you yourself don't have your heart in the right place."

"I'm done," Johann said finally before walking away.

"Wait! Johann!" Ivana ran after him; Marie followed.

"That was low. You're supposed to be the good guy," chided Ketura, though mildly amused. "How did you know that Ivana wanted money?"

"I'm an observant guy, Ketura. Ivana always seemed happiest around Johann when he was buying her something, and I was just waiting for the right time to expose her. Besides, their relationship was never going anywhere."

Ketura giggled.

"You've had too much to drink," he added.

--

When night fell, the temperature dropped dramatically, even though it was summer. The two went out to sit on the dock, away from all the action back in the village. Nathan noticed how Ketura shivered and goosebumps rose on her bare arms.

"Cold?" he asked her rhetorically.

"A little," she said.

Nathan threw an arm around her shoulders and drew her closer. She didn't resist the motion; in fact, she even herself be completely enclosed in his warming embrace.

"Liar," she whispered. "You _are_ still in love with me."

"I tried really hard not to be, Ketura," confessed Nathan. "It's just . . . hard, you know? Hard not to be spellbound by your uniqueness. And beauty."

"Even with my scars?"

"They're part of what makes you unique, love,"

"Don't call me that again, please."

A silent moment.

"What about you?" Nathan finally inquired.

"Me?" repeated Ketura. "Nathan, at this point, I just want you as my friend. Romance . . . I really don't think it's my thing."

"If that makes you happy," said Nathan, "I'm all for it. But if you wake up one day and find yourself in love, let me know, all right?"

"Don't lose sleep over it." Ketura wriggled her way out of Nathan's arms and stood up. "Speaking of, I want to go home now."

Nathan stood up and took her home, holding her hand all the way up the slope. He let go of her hand and softly kissed her scarred cheek. "Good night," he whispered to her.

"Yeah, good night," said Ketura, mildly uncomfortable. She closed the door behind her as she went inside.


	13. Twelve

**TWELVE**

"Have fun today?" Link asked as Ketura climbed up to her little loft.

"Yeah, a little," said Ketura. "I got some more grief from Ivana. Did you hear that disgusting rumor she spread about me?"

"Ketura, everybody in town has heard it," affirmed Link.

Ketura violently jerked open the door to her closet and hid behind it as she changed into her pajamas. "Did you tell Malo about my past?"

"Yes, I did. Why?"

"His daughter knew and tried to use it as evidence in favor of the lie," she said.

"I'm sorry, Ketura. I didn't think he would tell anyone else."

Ketura said nothing back; she walked over to the crib where Catherine slept peacefully. "Well, her credibility is wrecked now, thanks to Nathan. He revealed that she was only interested in her boyfriend's money."

"Wow. Shameful," commented Link. "Nathan's too nice to do something like that, though."

"He just wanted her off my back, most likely," Ketura climbed down the ladder and sat on the couch with her father. "Nathan really likes me, you know."

"Do you really like him?"

She scoffed. "As a friend. However, he's waiting for me to like him more than that - why am I having this conversation with you?"

Link laughed. "I know. If your mother was still alive, you could tell all this stuff to her." He patted Ketura on the shoulder. "Get some sleep now."

Ketura climbed back up to her bed, threw herself down, and fell asleep.

--

She was walking through town, and she was at the dock, when she saw Nathan sitting there by himself. He was looking down at his reflection in the water, a downcast expression on his handsome face. She wanted to say something to him, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came out.

Nathan slowly turned her way; he was laboring to breathe.

"How . . . could you . . . "

"What?" asked Ketura silently, alarmed at his weakness.

" . . . let this . . . happen?" He coughed, and sulfur-colored sand was ejected from his mouth, falling onto the dock.

Ketura looked around, and as she did, the sky went from blue to black, with no moon or stars to provide any illumination. She saw Bellum standing under the tree, holding a knife to Link's throat. Two phantom knights a few yards away were playing catch with Catherine's corpse.

Horrified, she slowly backed up, but she missed the ground somewhere and fell. She expected to meet water at the end, but instead, she fell through emptiness for what seemed like hours, then she landed on cobblestone pavement.

The impact of the landing jolted Ketura to wake up. She looked around at her bedroom, relieved that it was only a dream that she saw . . . again.

She closed her eyes, and imagined herself with Nathan while trying to fall back asleep. But she picked the wrong subject to try and relax her.

_He wants me as his girlfriend again. But he knows that I just want to be friends. Can I ever see him again, knowing that each time he sees me, he'll always be wishing for what he wants to happen? But severing ties would hurt him . . . and me._

_I need him in my life, to keep my head on straight. I need a friend. Bella is a good person, but she spends too much time taking care of William._

_Who knows? Maybe eventually I will be in love with him too. I'm amazed more girls aren't taken with him. He's so artistic, and caring, and good-looking, and just good . . . ._

_Who knows?_


	14. Thirteen

**THIRTEEN**

Nothing eventful occured until November, when Catherine took her first steps and said her first word ("Fishy").

"Fishy!" squealed Catherine while pointing at the picture of monkeys in the forest.

"That's not a fish, silly," said Nathan; he was watching Catherine as Ketura went grocerie shopping. "It's a monkey."

"Fishy." Catherine said again, proud of her ability to speak.

Ketura came back in with three paper bags in her arms.

"Hey, Catherine said 'fishy.'" reported Nathan.

"She said her first word and I wasn't here for it?" Ketura set the groceries down and snatched up Catherine.

"Fishy!" Catherine cried, pointing at the monkey portrait again.

A smile exploded on Ketura's face. "This is so cool!" she said, excited.

"Mah-e," Catherine said next.

"Are you trying to say 'Mommy?'" asked Ketura.

"Mah-e! Mah-e!" Catherine pointed her tiny finger at the ocean landscape hanging by the monkeys.

"That's an _ocean_," instructed Ketura, saying the last word slowly, enunciating each syllable.

"Osh," tried Catherine.

Seeing that teaching Catherine new words was done for today, Ketura set Catherine down on her feet and watched her walk around the studio.

"She's adorable," commented Nathan. "I just want to kidnap her and raise her as my own."

"I'll kill you if you do," replied Ketura with a joke threat.

"Fishy! Fishy! Fishy! Fishy!" cried Catherine with glee. Ketura couldn't help but laugh.

"So, Ketura, your eighteenth birthday's coming up," Nathan changed the subject. "Is there anything you want in particular?"

"Besides Bellum's head on a platter, no, not really," answered Ketura.

"You need to stop worrying about Bellum. He hasn't shown up yet."

"Yet is the key word," said Ketura. "I know killing him will be no problem once I get past his army, but his army is the scary part. How many people will be lost?" She looked down to the ground.

Nathan placed a hand under her chin and lifted it, forcing her to look up at him. "As long as you and your family are fine, I don't care about anybody else."

His face was slowly coming to hers . . . .

She pulled away.

"Sorry," Nathan said with chagrin.

"No, it's not that. You're just . . . too good a friend." Ketura didn't object when Nathan's arms wrapped around her and pulled her closer to him; she even returned the motion.

"I'm a good friend because I luh-"

"Please, shut up."

--

Ketura had started to see Nathan differently as the summer and autumn went on, almost to the point that she wouldn't object to being his girlfriend the next time he asked. He had filled the void in her life that Ganondorf previously occupied, and then some.

The nice, normal life was bearable, thanks to him.

--

"Happy birthday!"

Morning dawned on December the second, and Ketura was awoken by Link.

"Eighteen, I can't believe it!" stated Link proudly. "Well, today, your schedule is booked completely."

"It is?" asked Ketura, still half asleep.

"You're spending all day with Nathan today. You're going to take our boat and go for a cruise on the ocean around the island."

"What if we run into Bellum?"

"You won't."

Ketura slowly rose out of bed and changed into her new emerald green blouse and black pants, all the while thinking about being eighteen years old . . . it didn't feel any different from being seventeen.

"Nathan will be here shortly to pick you up," said Link, looking at his clock. "And please, Ketura, try to relax and have fun today. Don't worry about anything or anyone." To her surprise, breakfast was already on the table. She ate it up, then tried to go tend to Catherine.

"I'll babysit today," objected Link.

"Dad, today's my birthday. You've practically planned my day out for me. What about what I want?"

"Apparently, what you want is Bellum's head on a platter, but that's not happening anytime soon," said Link. "I'm not thinking about what you want, but what you need. And what you need is a day off."

_Knock knock_.

"Come in!" called Link.

Nathan came into the house; two bags were slung over his shoulders. "Happy Birthday, Ketura!" he said. She merely nodded. "Thanks for letting me use your boat, sir. Don't worry; I won't let her drown."

Ketura rolled her eyes.

"Shall we?" Nathan asked Ketura, gesturing out the door. She stepped outside and went with Nathan (who held her hand as usual) to the cove where the _Lykos_ was kept. Ketura pulled the boat out of the cove, then let Nathan take control when he insisted that he wanted to do it.

"Where to?" asked Nathan.

"I don't care, I've seen it all anyway."


	15. Fourteen

**FOURTEEN**

Nathan took the boat to the island that was once Death Mountain so he could see the Zoras. The Zoras on the island were a peaceful bunch and they took the two in immediately.

They were taken to see the Zora Queen, Oruta. She sat in front of a shrine at the back of the island.

"Your Highness, these two humans were found trespassing on our waters," the Zora guard stated.

"Tresspassing?" blurted Ketura in disbelief. "No, see, we were just sailing for leisure and -"

"Silence!" ordered Oruta. "I don't trust you humans. Ever since that devil man came and turned Ralis to stone -"

"That's just one human, Your Highness." Ketura protested again. "He and I, we're different."

"Do you work for another devil man other than Bellum?" accused Oruta. "What is that crest on your hand?"

"Tattoo," lied Ketura.

"An agent of Ganondorf!" declared the guard.

"No, please, we never -" Nathan was interrupted by the guard jabbing him with the butt of his spear.

"Silence!" More guards surrounded Nathan and Ketura, ready to subdue them, but Ketura acted quickly. She threw her arms out, and the Zora guards were blasted back by a sonic wave. She ran to the boat, dragging Nathan along, and helped him get the boat as far away from the island as possible.

"They were much friendlier when I was there last," said Ketura. "Bellum must have screwed things up for them. Can we go back now?"

"No. It's only midmorning, and I promised your father that I wouldn't bring you home too early."

Nathan sailed the boat all over the northern half of the ocean, seeing the islands as they sailed by because there wasn't much on them of interest. Around noon, he pulled some sandwiches out of one of his bags so the two could have lunch.

"Relaxed yet?" he asked.

"A little . . . ." Ketura said at first, then she pushed Nathan out of the controls so she could control the boat. She turned it around and made it take off at full speed. Nathan turned to see what she was running from, and he saw the black ship with the eye sail.

"Who's that?" he asked her.

"It's Bellum!" she said frantically. "Keep watch, will you?"

Nathan obeyed. He hid his body behind the bridge, craning his neck so only the top half of his head was exposed.

"We're losing him," he said with relief. "Oh, crap."

A cannonball whizzed through the air. It would have hit the boat and sank it if Ketura didn't thrust her hand out at the cannonball and send it whizzing the other way. It landed in the ocean.

Ketura steered the boat to the nearest archipelago. All the islands and rocks were very close together, and it looked like a great fish. She got Nathan off the boat and ushered him down into a small, crowded cave. Nathan had his arm around her waist, and she held onto his free hand.

"Ketura?" called Bellum's voice from above them. "I would love to see you again, and so would Ganondorf."

She exhaled sharply.

"I know you're around here somewhere, Ketura! Show yourself, and I'll go easy on you. I've been . . . feeling needs again."

Nathan moved, but Ketura shot a look at him that said "Hold still."

"I guess at a later date, then," Bellum said. "I'll be on my way now."

Both of them stayed where they were, Ketura positioned over Nathan in a defensive stance.

"You're just going to let him go?" he whispered.

"I don't want you to get hurt, Nathan. You . . . you mean too much to me." She pushed herself up so she could see if Bellum was still around. To her relief, the ship was sailing away.

"We're going to have to go around to make it back home," she informed Nathan. "Some birthday this has been."

--

Ketura and Nathan headed south from the archipelago before turning east. Bellum's ship was still visible, but it was heading north. After an hour, they started heading north as well.

"I mean a lot to you, Ketura?" asked Nathan as he draped his arm across her shoulders. She leaned her head on his shoulder.

"More than anyone else has ever meant to me," she answered. "Nathan . . . I love you."

"Those words are like music to my ears," he said, his hands finding Ketura's hair. He combed his fingers through the bright red hair. "I want you to know, Ketura, that I will always be here for you. I may not be extremely strong, but I will do what I can to protect you when you can't protect yourself."

"I know you love me, Nathan. I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Gladly, Ketura. You will never be alone again." He kissed the top of her head.

"Keep that promise."

"Ketura, I will always be with you until death. I love you."

Ketura smiled. She looked up at Nathan and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

They made it back to the island at night, when the cold December air finally kicked in. Nathan got off the boat first, then outstretched his hand for Ketura. She took it, and was pulled closer to Nathan, who took her into his arms and kissed her lips. Before she knew it, she was kissing him back.

"I'll be your girlfriend," she whispered after breaking off the kiss.

"Better," said Nathan. "Will you marry me?"

"How soon do you want?"

"At your leisure, my love. It is your birthday."

"The best birthday I ever had."

"Even though we were captured by Zoras and chased by Bellum?"

"I was with you." Ketura freed herself from Nathan's embrace and took his hand. "Come on, let's go tell my dad that we're getting married."

They went to the Lykos household and found Link awake, with Catherine sleeping in a nearby crib.

"Have fun today, Ketura?" he asked her.

"Yes, I did." Ketura said. "Say, Dad, my hormones have finally kicked in, and . . . ."

Link smiled. "Good for you, honey."

"I would like your daughter's hand in marriage, if that's all right with you, sir,"

"Well, I think you two are rushing into this. Is she pregnant?"

"No!" cried Ketura immediately, repulsed. "You said so yourself last year, Dad. I should get married so Catherine -"

"Nathan, you do know that if you marry Ketura, fatherhood is part of the package," said Link seriously.

"I know. I'll be the best father I can be for Catherine."

"You two are young. You're rushing into this," Link muttered.

"Dad, you also said that you wanted me to be happy. Well, today I was the happiest I have been in a long time."

"Ketura, do you remember back when you were fifteen and you always acted on impulse without thinking things through? You ended up getting hurt, didn't you?"

"That was three years ago. I'm more mature now."

Link sighed. "I know. I just feel old, you know? I'm thirty-two and a grandfather, and my daughter's getting married. But please: can you two wait a little while, like in the spring, before the wedding?"

"No problem," Nathan complied.

"March the fifteenth sounds good," said Ketura. "It's in the spring."

"The first day of spring," muttered Link. "Thanks for everything, Nathan. You can go home now."

Ketura and Nathan stepped outside the house, shutting the door behind them.

"You completely took me by surprise today, you know," said Nathan. "But it was a good surprise." He pulled a ring out of his pocket. Small emerald gemstones were set into the silver band, with one large diamond in the center. He slid it onto the third finger of Ketura's left hand.

"Are you sure, Ketura? You're not saying you love me and you'll marry me just to make me happy?"

"Nathan, I meant every word," said Ketura, holding her hand to his cheek. "How can I describe it . . . I got attached at first, and then I was so grateful for your friendship, I let my feelings deepen and go further. Nobody has ever made me feel this way before."

He grinned. "March the fifteenth?"

She smiled back. "Yes," and she pulled his head down so she could kiss him.


	16. Fifteen

**FIFTEEN**

"Tricky girl," muttered Bellum as he sailed away from the archipelago. He went back down to Ganondorf's cabin with the last of the hydramorte and a syringe.

As usual, Ganondorf was curled up, lying on the bed, his eyes unfocused. Even over the course of months, his life force had not returned.

"How long must I wait for your life force to come back?" asked Bellum angrily. "I've already used all of it to create a sufficient crew for my ship. What am I to do about an army? Now that Ketura just got away -"

"Ketura?"

"Yes, Ketura, you idiot. She was on a boat and she eluded me."

Ganondorf didn't respond.

"I'll just have to wait."

--

The ship continued north until nightfall, when it stopped so the phantom knights could capture a large bird and drain its life force. This bird's talons were tied together and to the mast of the ship so it couldn't fly away.

"Perhaps animal life force is stronger than human life force," hypothesized Bellum. He tried to inject the syringe into the bird's body, but it flapped its wings and jabbed its beak in defense. It even snatched the syringe from Bellum's hands with its beak, and clamped down to destroy it.

"Drat," grumbled Bellum as hydramorte and glass spilled onto the deck. "Now I have to wait a whole year until I can make more."

Bellum turned around to face the ocean, and there was another ship coming his way. Its sails were a plain white color, glowing faintly in the moonlight. The ship fired at his, but missed.

"Raise the anchor!" ordered Bellum to his crew. But before the anchor was completely raised, the crew of the other ship had boarded his.

The leader was a female, with flowing dark red hair framing a heart-shaped face. She wore tight black pants and a loose-fitting black tunic that was open at the bust to show off some cleavage.

"Octavius Bellum," she said. "What crackpot scheme are you up to this time?" She was flanked by some men of varying heights and builds.

"Marlene!" gasped Bellum, surprised. "Pleasant seeing you again."

"What have the Zoras done to you, to warrant stealing the life of their king?" demanded Marlene, whipping out her sword and pointing it at Bellum. Some of his knights took notice and rushed over to the scene. "Joshua! Calvin! Check the ship for any plunder or prisoners." Upon this command, two men in ragged clothing stole down below deck.

"Still pirating, Marlene?" asked Bellum, obviously scared of Marlene and her pirates.

"Actually, now, it's part-pirate, part-saving the world from nutcases like you."

"Marlene, if this is about what happened seven years ago, it's not my fault."

"Oh? It's not your fault that you discovered life force, presented it to Princess Zelda, and got yourself banished, therefore separating us? And now, I hear you're out to destroy all life?"

"I'm sorry, Marlene. Really, I am. Would you like to come to my cabin, so we can forget all of this?"

"No!" Marlene swiped her sword at Bellum, who flinched.

"Get them!" Bellum ordered his knights.

"Everyone back on the ship!" Marlene commanded her crew. "Bellum, I'm not in a mood to fight with your minions. Just you."

"Miss Marlene!" called Calvin. He and Joshua were accompanied by Ganondorf. "We found this guy. There's no treasure anywhere on this ship."

Marlene looked at Ganondorf for a second. "Bring him, then. Let me get the bird, and we'll be on our way."

"That's my bird!" Ganondorf recognized the bird as he was ushered on board.

"Ganondorf! You fooled me!" Bellum noticed Ganondorf walking, brimming with energy.

"Yes I did, Bellum. You're not as smart as you think you are, you know."

"Hello, what are you waiting for?" Bellum addressed his knights. "Attack them!"

A knight charged on Ganondorf, and he swung his fist at it and knocked it out of the way. He then ran to the mast to help Marlene release the bird. The bird flew up and circled the pirate ship, waiting.

Ganondorf and Marlene made it onto the pirate ship, and it sailed off.

--

"So, you're Ganondorf Dragmire," said Marlene. She, Ganondorf, and the crew were congregated in the dining room of the ship just below deck. "I've heard a lot about you. Then again, who hasn't?"

"History doesn't view me too kindly," shrugged Ganondorf. "I deserve it, though."

"I'm Marlene, and this is my pirate crew: Joshua and Calvin, who you already know; Tim, the navigator; Larry, of the crow's nest; Jack and Pete man the rigging; and Lucas, the janitor and cabin boy." To Ganondorf's surprise, Lucas was a young boy, only about twelve or thirteen years old, with gold-colored hair cut very close to his head. He held his left hand on top of his right as if he were hiding something.

"Well, Marlene, thank you for saving me and my bird," thanked Ganondorf. "You are pirates?"

"Yes, pirates. We originated at the Great Bay of Termina, and found ourselves exploring the ocean after the huge flood."

"She used to be Bellum's girlfriend," pointed out Larry; he was bald and burly.

"Larry, shut up!" snapped Marlene, blushing. "But yeah, that was forever ago. Before he got banished from Hyrule. He went north, I went south, met these bozos, and here we are. Lucas ran away from home last year and we saved him from an Octorok.

"Want something to drink, Ganondorf?" she offered.

"No thanks," said Ganondorf politely. "I'd like to talk about Bellum now, and how we can defeat him before he strikes."

"Ganondorf, I've done some research myself on life force, and it's barely possible without three essential things," began Marlene. "I've formulated my own hydramorte and watched as it sucked the life out of innocent fish I was experimenting on. However, one fish didn't get drained, so once it died from lack of water, I dissected it and found a piece of green metal inside: Aquanine, one of the three pure metals said to be forged by the goddesses themselves. I don't know how, but the Aquanine nullified the effects of hydramorte."

"Brilliant!" ejaculated Ganondorf. "So we need to find the other pure metals, and somehow distribute them to everyone so they can't be affected by Bellum?"

"I have specimens of the other two as well: Crimsonine and Azurine. There's supposed to be three of each somewhere in the world; there were four, until the Master Sword was forged . . . .

"If Bellum were to make it into my cabin and learn of my research, he'd find a way around it. I need to remove the pure metals from this ship and hide them somewhere, with someone trustworthy, on an island."

"But Miss Marlene," said Tim, "you don't know any island-dwellers!"

"I do," piped up Lucas. "My mom and dad."

"After you ran away and broke their hearts, do you think they would gladly do this favor for you and a bunch of pirates?" rebuked Jack.

"Who'd hide a pirate's plunder?" questioned Pete.

"It's not plunder, we didn't steal the metals from anyone!" refuted Joshua.

"Ganondorf," Marlene turned to him. "You look like you want to say something."

"I know someone who might," he shared. "Of course, I don't know if she would, because I hurt her feelings."

"Who, your ex-girlfriend?" asked Calvin. The other pirates laughed raucously.

"No," said Ganondorf, embarrassed at the thought. "She kind of resents the fact that I became Bellum's prisoner to save her life."

"So she's still your girlfriend?"

"Shut up." Ganondorf snapped. "Anyways, she lives on an island with her dad and daughter -"

"Then she _had_ to be -"

"Calvin, I'm warning you!" Marlene spoke up this time. "Let's just find the island and dump the metals off with this girl, then be on our way."

"Marlene, I can't do that," objected Ganondorf. "To just reappear in Ketura's life, then disappear again is wrong. Besides, her father and I worked hard so she could live a normal life, which includes us not drawing her back into this struggle."

"She'll be back in when Bellum attacks the island and starts killing everyone."

"She can defend everyone."

"Ganondorf. If this person . . . Ketura can already protect the whole island, what's three measly pieces of metal added to the mix?"

"But, Marlene . . . can you wait a while? That is, not ship the metals off immediately? Give it a few months or so."

"Okay, fine." Marlene agreed. "So . . . tell me about this Ketura."


	17. Sixteen

**SIXTEEN**

"Bella, I look ridiculous."

It was March the fifteenth, the day of Ketura's and Nathan's wedding. Bella had planned the whole wedding for the couple, and was now helping the bride-to-be prepare for her walk down the aisle. Ketura was currently trying on her wedding dress. The dress itself was snow white, plain in design, with a long, flowing skirt and straps. The dress was sharply contrasted by a poufy veil.

"Okay, so that big diamond necklace is a bit much -" Bella took the necklace off of Ketura. "But since your ears aren't pierced, you need some jewelry other than your wedding ring. Do you want earrings?"

"No." Ketura said firmly, looking into Bella's full-length mirror. She hated wearing dresses and needles and jewelry. "Why is all this beautifying necessary?" She asked, twisting her finger up in a freshly-formed spiral curl.

"Every woman should look her best on her wedding day." Bella answered.

"Nathan will still love me if I marry him in my blouse that's ripped up and has blood on the sleeve. In fact, I think he'd prefer that."

"No no no! Every man loves to see his woman in a beautiful dress."

"Says the wife of a blind man."

"Ha ha ha, smart-alec. Now . . . the plain white look does seem pretty bland. Hold on." Bella retreated to a basket and dug around until she found a spool of wide, royal-blue ribbon. She cut a length about ten feel long and tied it around Ketura's waist, with a big bow in the back. "There. That'll bring out your eyes. They're so lovely; I wish I had your eyes."

"Thanks. Am I ready yet?"

"Once I get your bouquet of flowers! Oh yes, did you memorize your vow?"

"I don't agree with the vow, actually," responded Ketura. "_I, Ketura Yelene Lykos, promise to now and forever love this man, Nathan Alvarez. I will, for the rest of our lives stay true and faithful to him, stick with him through the good times and the bad, and obey his wishes._ Seriously, I heard HIS vow and HE doesn't have to obey me! Am I becoming his wife or his slave?"

"You have to recite that vow word for word, or you're not officially married. The priest will has the vows written down in front of him, so he'll know."

"It's time to shake things up, I guess."

"Ketura, must you be such a rebel?" sighed Bella.

--

An arch made of flowers was set up in front of the dock. Nathan stood out by the arch with the priest performing the ceremony, rocking back and forth on his feet with nerves. What did he have to be nervous about? He was just getting married, that was it. He was becoming a husband and a father; no big deal, right?

He spotted Link in the front row in the traditional spot for the father of the bride; Catherine occupied the spot next to him, and she was sitting up, getting her fill of the lavishly decorated area. Catherine was absolutely adorable, and she rarely acted up; parenting this one-year-old should be easy, he thought.

The priest looked up at the gate, where a white flag was raised; the bride was ready. He raised his arms to get the attention of the guests, who all sat down in the chairs provided to them.

Nathan looked towards the gate, and the moment he did, his breathing stopped. Ketura was walking towards the aisle. He couldn't think of words to describe how . . . glorious - angelic - she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, plain and simple.

The guests all stood as Ketura made her way down the aisle; Nathan couldn't suppress a smile as she blew the veil a little bit off of her face. She must not have enjoyed being dressed up by Bella, who he noticed taking a seat in the back with William. He looked to see Link's expression; it was one of pride.

Ketura made it to the altar. Nathan reached out to remove the veil from her face, but she beat him to it. She ripped the veil not only off of her face, but her entire head, and tossed it into the water.

"Um, you're not supposed to discard the veil, you know," he whispered.

"I know, but it's not comfortable at all."

The priest cleared his throat and straightened his gold robe. "My friends, we are gathered here today to witness these two young people be joined by the bonds of holy matrimony." The guests all sat down in rough unison.

Nathan didn't listen to the priest's spiel about love and how sacred it was or whatever he was droning on about. He looked instead intently at Ketura, who was also looking back at him, a sheepish smile on her face. He wasn't brought back to earth until the priest said "Mr. Alvarez?"

"Er, yes?"

"Take this ring, place it upon the finger of your bride, and recite your vow."

Nathan took Ketura' ring from the priest, gently took Ketura's left hand, and slid it onto the third finger of the hand. "I, Nathan Alvarez, promise to - shoot, I forgot."

"Promise to now and forever," breathed Ketura.

"Oh! I, Nathan Alvarez, promise to now and forever love this woman, Ketura Yelene Lykos. I will, for the rest of our lives, stay faithful and true to her, stick with her through the good times and the bad, and always be loving and gentle towards her. I will never leave her side until we are separated by death."

"That's not part of the vow," the priest pointed out.

"I don't care. That's how I feel, and I want to express it."

The priest rolled his eyes. "Very well, Mr. Alvarez. Miss Lykos, take this ring, place it upon the finger of your groom, and recite your vow."

Ketura took the silver band and placed it on the third finger of Nathan's left hand. "I, Ketura Yelene Lykos, promise to now and forever love this man, Nathan Alvarez. I will, for the rest of our lives, stay faithful and true to him, stick with him through the good times and the bad, and always be loving and gentle towards him. I will never leave his side until we are separated by death."

"You're supposed to obey his every wish," the priest corrected.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I thought I was here to become his wife, not his slave," Ketura said. "Marraige is an equal partnership, I used to believe. But it seems like these days husband and slave master are interchangeable terms."

Several guests gasped at Ketura's boldness.

"Ketura, you're blowing this out of proportion," said the priest. "Now, unless you recite the vow correctly, your marriage is not legally binding."

"You let Nathan get away with changing things up a bit. By denying me, you're only proving my point. That's how I feel, and I want to express it."

"Are you even a girl?" shouted a guest who was recognized as Ivana.

"Very well!" said the priest grudgingly. "By the power given to me by the Divine Trinity of Din, Nayru, and Farore, I now declare the two of you husband and wife - or wife and husband, if the feminist bride would prefer that. Either way, Mr. and Mrs. Alvarez, kiss."

"Actually, I'm changing my name," corrected Nathan.

"Fine! Mr. Lykos, you may kiss the bride."

Nathan did just that.

--

"You've got a lot of guts." Bella found Ketura at the reception drinking some champagne.

"Just now notice?" asked Ketura before taking another sip.

"No woman in the history of Hyrule has questioned those wedding vows before. Not even I."

"I've just never seen what it is about men that makes them so special. Men are three things: lazy, stupid, and wimps. They hide behind their egos."

"Wimps?"

"I've seen a guy killed because he was punched in the face."

"Must have been some punch," commented Bella, serving herself some champagne. "But Ketura, if you have so much against men, why are you married?"

"Nathan's the exception to the rules, like my dad. He has no ego to hide behind, just his easel. Speaking of which, where is he?" Ketura looked around the throngs of people talking to one another and saw Nathan and Link talking. She joined them, putting an arm around her husband's waist.

"Mama!" squealed Catherine, holding her arms out to Ketura.

"Here's Mom, baby," said Ketura, taking her daughter up.

"Da!" Catherine pointed at Nathan. The three adults giggled.

"Ketura, your dad and I were just talking about when we're going to get you moved into our house," said Nathan, kissing Catherine's scalp before he kissed his wife. Nathan finally raised the money to buy the house by the windmill that he had wanted for so long. "How does Monday sound?"

"Monday sounds good," said Ketura, looking over at Link. "Are you going to be fine living by yourself on the other side of town, Dad?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Besides, you don't want me around all the time; I've told you that. Now hand me Catherine and you two enjoy your wedding day."

Catherine was a tad hard to pry away from her mother, but she eventually yielded. Ketura and Nathan went around to everyone, accepting their congratulations, and so on . . . until they reached Ivana.

"Hello, newlyweds." Ivana said icily.

"Hello, Ivana," said Ketura as politely as possible.

"This is probably the strangest wedding I have ever been to. There's no . . . " she paused to look around the decorated town for something to criticize. "There's no pink in any of the decorations."

"I don't like the color pink." Ketura stated.

"And might I say, Ketura, you might as well have spat in the face of Princess Zelda, doing what you did. By challenging the priest, you challenged her and Hyrule itself."

"I know. I'm no match against a big old ocean and a dead queen," said Ketura sarcastically; Nathan took the champagne out of her hand and finished it off himself. "But you're nowhere near getting married, so keep your mouth shut."

"Ivana, it's our wedding day. Can't you be pleasant just for today?" implored Nathan.

"No, I can't be pleasant to _you_, Nathan. Because of you, my boyfriend broke up with me! And she broke my nose, so that automatically calls for raucousness!"

"Don't you mean rancor?" jabbed Ketura. However, Nathan took her by the arm and led her away from Ivana.

"I think you've had too much to drink," he whispered to her.

--

Night time settled on the world, and Nathan went home with Ketura, Link, and Catherine, where he would live until it was time to move into their new house.

"It feels so good to be out of that dress," said Ketura with relief as she put on her pajamas. She closed her closet doors and turned around, only to be swept up by Nathan, who began to kiss her passionately.

"Stop it!" she was able to push him off. "You know I don't like being surprised like that."

"Well, sorry. I was . . . trying to get you into the mood."

"For what?" asked Ketura, dreading the answer. She took her husband by the hand and led him to the bed, where they sat down.

"Your father has Catherine in her crib in his bedroom, so we're more or less alone."

"Nathan . . . I'm sorry, but Bellum ruined it for me. Maybe in a few years or so, I'll be ready."

"I can respect that, I guess." Nathan got up and slid underneath the blanket. He looked at Ketura adoringly, with a big smile on his face.

"What?" she asked.

"I love you, Ketura."

"I love you too." And she laid down beside him.


	18. Seventeen

**SEVENTEEN**

The house by the windmill was two stories high. It was made of brick like all the houses in town, with a shingled roof. The inside walls were white, and the cedar staircase contrasted with it nicely. The living room, kitchen, dining room, and a bathroom were on the first floor, and three bedrooms and another bathroom made up the second floor.

It didn't take much effort to move all of Ketura's things from her old house to her new one. The elderly couple that lived above Nathan's art studio bought new furniture one day, so the newlyweds inherited a sofa, a rocking chair, a divan, a dining table with four matching chairs, a loveseat, and a king-sized bed.

Ketura brought over her old nightstand and placed upon it the picture of her parents that she had always had throughout her childhood. It was mildly wrinkled from being tossed around through an adventure, but still in good condition. She also hung the sword that she found on the beach above the bed. Nathan adorned the home with some of his paintings, all depicting different regions of Old Hyrule: the forest, Death Mountain, Lake Hylia, the Gerudo Desert, Snowpeak, etc.

Catherine was given her own bedroom filled with her toys, but her crib was in her parent's bedroom still.

"Home sweet home," Nathan was heard to have said.

--

Nathan had gotten a job at Malo Mart with Link to support his family and only painted on the side during those days. Ketura was left alone to take care of Catherine, much to her disappointment. But she didn't stay in the house with her daughter; the two would go on walks frequently.

Such was the case on the afternoon of April the eighth of that year. Nathan joined his family at the dock so they could go on a boat ride around the island after his shift, and he found his wife and daughter looking down into the water.

"Who's that?" Ketura asked Catherine, pointing at the toddler's reflection. "Who's that?"

"Me!" declared Catherine, sticking her hand out so she could touch the water. "Oh," she said as her reflection disappeared upon contact.

"Hey there, girls," said Nathan as he joined them.

"Hi, Nathan," said Ketura.

"Da - dy!" squealed Catherine as he kissed her forehead.

"So, where's the boat?" asked Nathan, looking around the nearby water for the boat.

"Paul's still taking the other family around right now," explained Ketura. "It'll be maybe three minutes. No, Catherine!" She acted in the nick of time to prevent Catherine from falling into the water. "You're a little young to swim."

Catherine was not paying attention to her mother's weak joke. She pointed her short finger up at the sky, focusing on a very large bird descending to the ground. "Cheep-cheep!" she said, using her unique way of identifying birds.

"That's a big bird," commented Nathan upon seeing the bird.

The dark-feathered roc landed on the island; people screamed and ran away from it. Ketura handed Catherine to Nathan and walked over to the bird. The bird had a box tied to its leg, she noticed.

The bird saw Ketura and looked her over as she approached it, occasionally looking at the inside of its right wing. When Ketura was five feet away, it spread out its right wing.

Ketura could not believe it, but she was staring at a scarily accurate picture of herself. Not only that, but it was colored in to show the exact orange shade of her hair, the perfect blue in her eyes, and the scars that were now nothing but faint lines on her face.

"Are you with Bellum?" she asked the bird, feeling a little silly.

The bird inclined its head towards the picture attached to its wing.

"Yeah, that's me. Are you here to take me prisoner and deliver me to Bellum?" she asked again.

The bird stuck out the leg that had the box tied to it.

"Is that for me?" she inquired. The bird nodded.

Ketura untied the box from the bird's leg and shook it; there were maybe three things inside it for her. "Thanks for this."

The bird flew away.

She went back to Nathan and Catherine, who were talking to Paul, a beanpole of a man with a steamboat behind him.

"The boat is having technical problems," explained Paul when Ketura came over. "I'm sorry, Ms. Lykos."

"No big deal," she said. "Let's go home," she added to her family.

--

Ketura, Nathan, Catherine, and Link (who saw the bird and came over to ask her what was going on) sat at the dining table in the dining room. Ketura opened up the box and immediately saw an envelope. She opened it and read the letter aloud.

_"'Ketura, my name is Marlene. I am a pirate captain who wants to put an end to Bellum's scheme almost as much as you do. I did some individual research on life force, and discovered that the three pure metals could be the key to thwarting him. The metals Azurine, Crimsonine, and Aquanine have nullifying effects against hydramorte. I have sent them to you because I don't want Bellum to discover them. Please keep them safe and guard them with your life. Thank you very much.'"_ She looked up at her family. "Just how does she know who I am -- oh, there's more: _'P.S. There's also a private letter addressed to you enclosed in the box with the metals.'"_

"Should we be caught up in this?" questioned Nathan as he watched Ketura pull out three small bundles, each wrapped up in burlap. She unwrapped one bundle, labeled CRIMSONINE, and unveiled a blood red stone. The emerald green stone was labeled AQUANINE, and the deep blue stone was AZURINE.

"Well, the metals are here. It's a little too late. But how does she know about us?" wondered Ketura, running her fingers over the hard, smooth texture of the Azurine. "I think we can keep them tucked away in my nightstand. Wrap them back up in this burlap and everything." She then dived her hand back into the box to retrieve the other letter Marlene had mentioned in her letter. The envelope was bulging, hinting that this letter was plenty lengthy.

"I'll read this later," she decided, stowing the letter in the inside pocket of her jacket. She then wrapped up the pure metals, took them upstairs, and shoved them in the back of the bottom drawer of her nightstand the next time she was upstairs.

--

Later that night, after putting Catherine to bed and before retiring for the night herself, she opened the envelope and read the letter:

Ketura,  
perhaps four months ago, the group of pirates that sent you the pure metals  
came upon Bellum's ship. They did no harm towards him, but they rescued me.  
Bellum did drain some of my life force, enough to render me weak and immobile, but  
this stuff replenishes itself over time. I got away with having no more drained by feigning  
the fatigue associated with lacking life force.

I am safe now, for the moment, until we run into Bellum again and am put in jeopardy.  
But we have one advantage: the pure metals and my pet roc, the very same one who  
delivered this letter to you. I found the roc's egg on an island and . . . I supposed I hatched it.  
If we were to have another run-in with Bellum, the roc would be able to swoop in, pick up a  
phantom knight or two, and drop them on our ship. Well, I guess it could do that. You never  
know what happens until it does.

I hope that wherever you are, you are safe and happy. The last image I had of you, that look of  
sadness and pain on your beautiful, scarred face still resonates in my head. But I try to think of  
you as the curious, impulsive, eager fifteen-year-old girl that I grew to love. I hope your normal life  
is working out just fine for you. I see you with your father and baby Catherine, perhaps a boyfriend  
or - dare I even think of it - a husband.

This may not come as a surprise, but every thought that I have is centered around you. Nobody has  
ever, in my 548 years of living, given me more joy than you. And since we are not together, no matter  
how much I wish it, you cannot possibly interrupt me when I say (write) that I love you. And for a time,  
I thought that when you were older, maybe twenty-five or thirty, you would be ready for a - what's the  
right word - male companion. If you are not happily married in five or ten years, then come find me.  
No matter what, I will wait for you, my love.

Ganondorf

"He can't be serious," murmured Ketura after reading the last part of the letter.

"Serious about what?" Nathan's voice startled her as he came into the room and went over to the closet to get his pajamas.

"Oh, just reading this letter. It's from Ganondorf. I mean, I'm glad that he got away from Bellum and everything, but --"

"But what?" his back may have been to Ketura, but she still blushed as he took off his shirt, exposing his bare back.

"Just read. You'll get a kick out of it."

When Nathan had put on his pajamas and sat on the bed with his wife, he took the letter from her and read it, shaking his head as he finished reading the last paragraph. "Joy. Competition."

"Please, Nathan," began Ketura, taking the letter from her husband before he ripped it up. "If he shows up, will you confront him or something?"

"You bet I will."

"He'll rip you apart if a fight breaks out - it won't be a fight, but a massacre."

"I don't want to fight. Besides, I don't blame him for feeling this way. Any man who looks at you and doesn't fall in love has no taste, or is your dad or brother or already married or has unnatural preferences."

"I never thought that he actually felt this way about me. Sure, he once viewed himself as a father figure back when my dad didn't care about me, but this is just . . . ."

"Ketura," Nathan hesitated, as if what he was about to say was painful to think about. "Do _you?_"

"No. All I could ever be with Ganondorf is his friend." She reached over to her nightstand and turned off the decorative lantern, darkening the room. She felt Nathan's arm wrap around her as she laid down, and he pulled her over to him.

"Besides, I prefer artistic men," she whispered in his ear before kissing him.


	19. Eighteen

**EIGHTEEN**

The clouds gathered over the sea, yet they looked like they had no intention of spilling rain on the world. Marlene noted this as she stood at the bow of her ship, the _Flying Cucco_ and watched the great roc fly above the ship as usual. Ganondorf had fashioned a helmet for the bird and called it Helmaroc, but the other pirates found it a nuisance at times, especially since it made the poop deck what its name implied.

All of the pirates, Ganondorf included, had spent the last seven years touring the ocean for Bellum, and not once had they run into him. Bellum had more or less vanished from the world, it seemed, but they were still on constant lookout. The last strange phenomena that could be contributed to the mad scientist was a village on an island in the southeastern waters burned to the ground, with the some inhabitants turned to stone and the burnt bodies of the others impaled on poles. They were all appaled when they saw this, especially to see young children as victims.

"Perhaps something had happened to him. Perhaps during the hurricane five years previously, his ship sank and he drowned along with his crew," Larry had suggested.

Marlene had shot down his idea. "We found that massacred island village just last week, and the stone people had Bellum's handiwork written all over it. He's still out there."

--

On September the twenty-ninth of the seventh year of his time with the crew of the _Flying Cucco_, Ganondorf was caught alone with Lucas in the boy's cabin. Even after all this time, Lucas was still stuck as the janitor and cabin boy, and Ganondorf had helped him clean up a spill of vomit outside of his cabin. Ganondorf was a bit apprehensive about this meeting, because Lucas had always regarded him with unexplained contempt for the three-quarters of a decade that they had been on the same ship together.

"I swear, Jack's had too much to drink," sighed Lucas. "Thanks, man,"

"No problem. I'm just trying to be good."

"You're doing a pretty good job at it, wanting to put down Bellum," added Lucas, sitting down on his lumpy mattress. "Or do you just view him as competition?"

"Competition? For what?"

"Surely you're uncomfortable with another evil mind such as your own -"

Ganondorf had sprang towards Lucas upon hearing the word "evil" and grabbed him by the throat. "I'm. Not. Evil. Why would you think that . . . which one do you have?" He had noticed the crest of the Triforce on Lucas' right hand.

"What are you talking about?" demanded Lucas, trying to loosen Ganondorf's hold on him.

"You possess a piece of the Triforce. Which one is it? Do you know Ketura Lykos?"

"I've never met your ex-girlfriend!"

Ganondorf let go of Lucas. "She was never my girlfriend," he snapped, blushing a little. "Which one do you have?"

"I think . . . it's half of the Triforce of Wisdom. It belonged to my aunt Zelda, but it came to me just before the flood. I don't understand why."

"To preserve it, no doubt," deduced Ganondorf.

"Why do you care? You don't have the Triforce of Power anymore! What good is it to you?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing at all I guess."

The next minute or two was overcome by silence.

"Zelda was your aunt?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. My parents adopted me, actually. I don't know who my real parents are."

"Odd, you look so much like her, I can't stand it. She was a really horrid queen."

"What does that have to do with any-- AAH!" The cabin had lurched unpleasantly, throwing Ganondorf out the doorway and Lucas into the wall. They both went up to the deck to see Helmaroc fighting with a strange flying creature. The creature was a nasty shade of yellow, shaped like a wrinkled pear, with six purple tentacles trailing behind it. It shot purple slime balls at Helmaroc, who dodged every volley.

"What is that thing?" demanded Ganondorf when he found Marlene.

"I don't know!" she replied. "It saw us, tried to get me, but the bird got it.

The yellow flying beast stopped shooting slime balls at Helmaroc and it turned to face Ganondorf. It zoomed his way, but Ganondorf dodged just in time, rolling to the left of the monster.

The beast opened up at the top, and revealed a dark eye with a sulfurous yellow iris surrounded by an orange ring. Ganondorf stole a sword right from Pete's scabbard and hurled it at the eye. The sword made contact, but soon sank into the eye without leaving a scratch.

"My sword!" exclaimed Pete. "What were you thinking, man?"

"Usually the eye is its weak spot," said Ganondorf as he dodged the creature's swoop yet again. A tentacle lashed out, trying to grab him. He got his hand around the end of the tentacle and yanked it off. He dropped it and let it flop around deck like a fish as he watched another tentacle grow in its place.

Helmaroc attacked the monster and hooked its talons into the monster's body. It flew away, taking its foe with it.

"What in the world was that thing?" blurted Calvin.

"I'll soon find out," said Marlene calmly, picking up the tentacle and heading towards her cabin.

--

Marlene's cabin was set up to be part-bedroom, part-captain's-quarters, part-laboratory. She was sitting at a desk with all sorts of strange equipment and the tentacle when Ganondorf came in to see what progress had been made.

"This thing has no bones, or nerves, or muscles, or anything in it," she said to him as he came over. She tried to cut it with her knife, but it dissolved into brass-colored sand and water in her hands. "It's made of life force . . . and this liquid's hydramorte, no doubt. I had no clue Bellum was capable of this."

"That's my life force," Ganondorf recognized the sand.

"Powerful stuff," added Marlene. "What would Bellum want to do with this monster, anyway? It baffles me that life force and hydramorte bonded like this without cancelling each other out. Maybe this monster's purpose is to drain life force, and the hydramorte in its system makes that possible."

"How about an explanation as to why that sword didn't do anything to its eye?"

"Perhaps the hydramorte and the life force combined makes it invincible. I'll have to run some experiments to be sure, though."

Later that night, Marlene caught two fish. She used some of her own hydramorte to drain the life force from the first fish, then combined the life force with some more hydramorte. The result was that the compound hardened into a dull goldenrod stone. Marlene fed the stone to the second fish, then tried to kill it with her sword. The fish survived, with the blade not even penetrating its scales.

"The life force and hydramorte combine to create invincibility," she realized before Ganondorf. "And the only things that nullify hydramorte are the pure metals."

"Now don't you feel bad about sending them off to Ketura?"

"Not really. I'll just write her another letter telling her what I discovered, and that . . . she should forge a sword with them. Odds are Bellum will be so pleased with the success of this monster that he'll make more. So if you're going to write her another essay, start at it."


	20. Nineteen

**NINETEEN**

Link had taken the pure metals from Ketura when she received another letter from Marlene the pirate about her latest findings and asked him to forge a sword out of the pure metals, and he set up a makeshift smith in his house, pounding the blade on a rock he found on the shore. However, he had no means to make a hilt. Ketura thought quickly and carved a hilt out of a piece of driftwood and endowed the hilt with some power from the Triforce of Power. The wood hardened like granite and assumed a shining pitch black color. The sword was then promptly stowed away so Catherine, now seven, wouldn't accidentally hurt herself with it.

--

Ketura awoke abruptly one night, startled by her latest dream. She sat all the way up, hyperventilated for a few seconds, then her head fell into the cradle of her hands.

"What's wrong, Ketura?" Nathan's half-asleep voice followed. She heard him shifting to sit up next to her.

"Another nightmare," she responded. "It was Bellum, for the first time in seven years. He and his army were . . . . I saw the whole ocean burning, even the water, and his eye symbol watched it happen. I could hear the screams of people, dying in the flames . . . ." She tried to take a deep breath, but the tears came first. "I know that he can't set the whole world on fire, but he's probably still out there, and he'll eventually --" She had difficulty talking among her sobs.

"Ketura, shh," said Nathan soothingly as he folded his arms around her. She buried her face into his chest, and he stroked her hair. "We're going to beat him. We have a very powerful sword, remember? It's going to be okay." He rocked side to side a little. "It'll be all right. I'm here with you, I love you, now and always." He released his wife, only holding on to the top of her arms, and he laid her back down.

"You're right, Nathan. But people will die before it's all over." Ketura said, wiping away a tear.

"It's a sacrifice we must make," said Nathan, wiping away tears. "Sleep now, my love, and may your dreams be filled with bliss." He gave her a quick kiss before lying down next to her, holding her hand.

--

When Catherine was four years old, her parents enrolled her in the small school on the island. A school for adults whose education had been halted while they were younger was open as well, and Ketura decided to enroll in it to finish her education (in the days of Old Hyrule, parents had to give written permission to the school for their child to attend, and since she had no parent to give her permission when she was fourteen and fifteen, Ketura no longer went to school). Mildly to her dismay, the school was taught by the teacher who had educated Ketura when she was younger: David Greene, who was a horrible teacher and had his curriculum especially certified by Princess Zelda. It would take three years for Ketura to finish her education - three more years of Master Greene.

--

Ketura and Catherine accompanied Nathan on his way to work while they were on their way to school. Nathan told them "Bye, girls. Have a good day at school," and the mother and daughter went to the small "campus." The elementary school that Catherine attended was in one building, the secondary school in another, and the catch-up school for adults in the third. She dropped her daughter off at the elementary, then entered her school.

It was the exact same school from Ketura's childhood. The walls were a dark wood color, with tan-colored wood as the floor; a chalkboard was on the wall across from the entrance. Six desks (there were six students) were placed on the floor, arranged in two rows with three desks each. Currently the only other person here was Master Greene, a balding man in his fifties with round, thick glasses and scoliosis that made his back hunch a little. He was setting out old, thick books on each desk.

"Good morning, Ms. Lykos," he said upon seeing Ketura. "Are you excited for the first day of your last year?"

"You have no idea," said Ketura, sitting down at the center desk on the front row. She looked at the book on her desk - A History of Hyrule by an unknown author. "Hylian history, finally?"

"Well, we've studied the geography of Hyrule and how it has changed over the years, as well as the history of Termina in years past. I figured it was time for you all to learn the history of your own country. I'm even going to read the book aloud instead of assigning chapters for individual reading."

_That's a small improvement,_ thought Ketura snidely. _He'll probably make us take notes._

Over the next five minutes, five more young adults came into the building and occupied the desks around Ketura. They looked at the faded blue cover of their books and then at the board, where Master Greene had written the following on the board in shaky handwriting:

**WELCOME STUDENTS**

**October - December: Hyrulian History  
January - March: Reading and Grammar  
April - June: Arithmetic**

"Master Greene," said Ketura, reading the board and noticing the error on it. "Isn't it _Hylian _history, instead of Hyrulian?"

Master Greene looked at the board. "Oh yes, you're right. I'm sorry, class," he said hastily as he made the correction. He followed up by clearing his throat.

"Now class, we are starting out this year by learning the history of the former land of Hyrule from its creation to its flooding. This book we are using was approved by Princess Zelda herself-"(Ketura had grown out of the habit of spitting upon hearing Zelda's name)"-to educate students. However, it only follows up to the events of twenty-five years ago, when the first Twilight scare hit Hyrule. Now, please, open your books to page six, and follow along as I read.

"'_Chapter One: Hyrule's people. According to legend, Hyrule was created by the three goddesses of the Divine Trinity: the powerful Din, who laid out the land; Nayru, who created the elements; and Farore, who breathed life into the world. Upon ascending back to heaven, they left behind the physical manifestations of their power, the Triforce . . .'_ Who is passing notes?"

"Oh, I'm just taking notes, Master Greene," explained Ketura, showing her pencil and notes to the teacher. _Of course, I already know this stuff, and he got some of it wrong._

Master Greene droned on:

_"'Six intelligent races, three human, three nonhuman, were created and set to inhabit the land. The three human races were as follows: the Gerudo, the Sheikah, and the Hylians. The Hylians are believed to be the children of Nayru herself, and claim to this day to be the race closest to the gods'_ - yes, Ketura?"

"Weren't the Oocca created instead of the Hylians? I was told that the Oocca was the most advanced race in the early days, and they created the race Hylia."

Someone behind her snickered.

"Now, Ketura, the Oocca are a myth. No trace of them exists anywhere." Master Greene said.

"The traces are below the ocean. There was this temple in the old forest that I went to and saw its ruins -"

"Nonsense. Let me continue.

"'_The nonhuman races were the Kokiris, Gorons, and Zoras. Part A: The Gerudo. The Gerudo was a race of mostly females, with one male born every century. They lived in the desert to the west of Hyrule proper, separated from the world. The Gerudo had their own society and hierarchy that the government of the Hylians was slightly based off of. Although their motives are unclear, this desert tribe was notorious for thievery and playing the harlot, often going to find men as much as booty to steal. Perhaps the most infamous thief was the evil Ganondorf Dragmire, who not only stole, but killed those he stole from. He was the first thief from the tribe to prey on women and children and murder.'"_ He stopped to catch a breath, looking at Ketura, who was staring at the words on the page as if they made her uncomfortable.

_"'When authority was established in Hyrule and Ganondorf had failed to conquer the land, he was executed. Without their demon king, as he was referred to, the Gerudo people eventually destroyed themselves in the throes of anarchy._

_"However, not all Gerudos were power-hungry and greedy. Nabooru Suleiman gained favor of King Lein I and was later awakened as the Sage of Spirit. She was spared from punishment with her people and lived as a sage -' _What is it now, Ms. Lykos?"

"The motives for their thievery and harlotry are unclear?" asked Ketura in disbelief. "They courted Hylian men so they could preserve their tribe. And the arid climate of the desert is unsuitable for agriculture, so they had to steal to eat."

"How do you know this?" questioned Master Greene.

"Assumption," answered Ketura coolly.

"Do not assume that you know more than me," snapped Master Greene.

"Oh, anyone with half a brain would know that there's no assuming there."

The other students gasped.

"Anyway," said Master Greene, trying to shake off the diss, "On to the Sheikah." He went on about the Sheikah: how they built Kakariko Village, how they were loyal to the first king even before the kingdom was established, and how most of them died out during the Hylian Civil War. Ketura could tell from the smug look on his face as he finished talking about all the races of Hyrule and their brief blips of personal history that she did not interrupt again. In the afternoon, he dismissed them for the day, and Ketura gladly hopped out of her seat and dashed out as inconspicuously as possible.

She was mildly infuriated at how the history of the Gerudo was messed up, and that everyone else would never know the truth about the Twili, Zant, Midna . . . Ganondorf. How were the Twili getting along, now that their Princess was gone and never coming back? The author of that book had obviously been biased somehow against the Gerudo, just like everyone else in Old Hyrule.

She picked Catherine up at her school and went home, where she prepared lunch and ate it with her daughter.

"Did you have a good day at school?" Ketura asked Catherine in between bites of fish.

"It was all right," said Catherine. "My teacher's really cool. His name's Shad, and he's old!"

"How old?"

"Maybe forty or fifty. I don't know."

"Forty is not that old, Catherine. I once knew a guy who was over five hundred years old."

"Wow! Did he die?"

Ketura sighed. "No. I haven't seen him in a while. Tell me more about your day."

"I learned about this place called Hyrule, Mom. Like, over the years, the way the country looked - its geogogrophy- changed, and nobody knows why. Would the guy who's five hundred know why?"

"He didn't live in Hyrule," said Ketura. "But I did when I was your age. So did Dad. And Grandpa, too. Grandpa did a lot of cool stuff once, and he'll tell you the stories when you're older."

"What did you do during school, Mom?"

"My day was boring. I read this really dull book about people who lived in Hyrule a long time ago, and some of the facts were wrong. My teacher isn't as cool as Shad."

"No man is as cool as Shad, except for Dad and Grandpa and the five-hundred-year-old guy. Mom, what happened to Hyrule?"

"Well, about eight years ago, the people were in some trouble, and they prayed to the gods to be saved from it. The gods flooded Hyrule to destroy the trouble."

"Will Hyrule ever stop being flooded?"

"I don't know, Catherine. I honestly don't know."


	21. Twenty

**TWENTY**

Nathan hated his job.

His job consisted of putting on a loud pink suit and doing the trademark Malo Mart dance while standing behind the counter to sell merchandise. He also had to wear a record player on his head that played the trademark Malo Mart song. The song annoyed him - mostly because it was blaring right into his ears - the suit was a little tight around the arms, and it was pink. He hated wearing pink almost as much as his wife did.

The only tolerable part of the work environment was working with his father-in-law, Link. Link was the general supervisor, who reported any mishaps to the owner-slash-manager-slash-founder, Malo. Nathan valued this opportunity to get to know Link a little better.

"She's still worried sick about Bellum," Nathan confided to Link. "I think there's nothing to worry about. He hasn't gotten us yet, has he?"

"He's probably just scheming up a way to get us," said Link, awkwardly doing the dance. "But at least we're prepared with that sword."

"It's a darn shiny sword, let me tell you that," said Nathan, who had to half-shout to be heard over the song. "Hey you! Come look!" A customer had approached his counter and began to look at the wares offered at that particular counter.

"Are you Nathan Alvarez-Lykos?" asked the middle-aged man, who wore thick glasses and had a hunched back.

"Hello, David," greeted Nathan.

"What kind of wife is Ketura to you?" asked David Greene.

"A wonderful wife," replied Nathan. "Why?"

"In the past, Ketura has been an excellent student, always being studious and never uttering a peep. NOW, we start on Hylian history, and she questions the facts in the text."

"They're probably wrong, then," muttered Link.

"That probably means that she's thinking for herself, sir," said Nathan nonchalantly. "Isn't that the point of education, to think for oneself and make your own decisions?"

Master Greene sighed. "No, you can't disagree with history. What happened happened, and there's no changing it. Still, Nathan, can you tell Ketura to please cut down on her opposing thoughts? She is a corrupting influence on her classmates."

"Yes sir," Nathan lied smoothly. Master Greene left the store.

--

"'_The cause of the First Hylian Civil War is ambiguous to this day. All that is known is that word of the Sacred Realm reached the ears of the people, and everyone fought over the means to enter it. The only races involved in the fighting were the human races, with the Gerudo laying the most destruction to the land. They even took a Hylian prisoner who had greatly displeased Ganondorf. The Sheikah invaded the Gerudo territory in an attempt to rescue the prisoner, but they were almost all obliterated in the fighting. As for the prisoner in question, she disappeared.'_" Master Greene paused to look at Ketura, almost challenging her to object to something.

_"'A young mother had decided to take her infant child and flee to the Kokiri Forest, according to legend. However, she was attacked on her way by a Gerudo thief and severely wounded. She was able to leave her baby in the care of the Kokiri, but she died soon after. It is speculated that the baby grew up to become the legendary Hero of Time._

_"'The war ended after a bloody fight in the Sheikah's sacred Shadow Temple, which resulted in the deaths of many. Some time after, a young man selected by the Sage Rauru became Hyrule's first king, Lein I._

_"'Lein was a fair king, who forged alliances with the Gorons and the Zoras and kept peace with the Gerudos for ten years. He and his wife fathered one daughter, Hyrule's first Princess Zelda._

_"'Hyrule lived in peace for ten years, until the Gerudo invaded Hyrule once more. Their evil king Ganondorf killed the king and drove away the young Princess Zelda. He then infiltrated the Sacred Realm and went down in history as the first mortal man to touch the Triforce. With its power, he was able to conquer Hyrule and rule it for seven years, until he was sealed away into the Evil Realm by Link of the Kokiri, the Hero of Time.'"_

Ketura raised her hand.

"Ketura, thank you for not interrupting today's lecture."

"You're welcome. Now, it describes Ganondorf as the 'evil king.' What was evil about him? I was always under the impression that he was only trying to provide a better life for his people."

"He was a power-hungry demon, Ms. Lykos. He still was when he destroyed Hyrule. And wherever he is now, he's still full of hatred and evil."

"No he's not." Ketura snapped.

Silence followed. Ketura could feel the glare of her classmates and Master Greene.

"I am puzzled, Ms. Lykos. Are you defending the actions of the most infamous man in history?"

"Maybe," said Ketura.

"Did you . . . know him personally or something?"

Ketura sighed. "Yes."

"Interesting," muttered Master Greene. "Well, Ketura, you may pack your things and leave my school now."

"What?" Ketura stood up, knocking her desk over. "You can't kick me out of school because of the company I used to keep."

"For all I know, you can be as warped and unstable as he is. Please set that desk upright and leave."

"Please, Master Greene. I have never caused any trouble for you," said Ketura as she put the desk back upright.

"Leave now!" roared Master Greene.

"Fine," said Ketura, walking to the door. "I don't want to put up with any of your prejudices anymore."

"Is it true, what Ivana said about you?" asked a student as Ketura walked by him.

"No!" she half-shouted on her way out the door.

--

Someone knocked on the door. Ketura opened it.

"I hear you caused quite a stir at school today," said Bella.

"Yeah. The teacher's an idiot. Come sit a while," said Ketura, helping her pregnant friend into the house and onto the sofa.

"Tell me everything. But first, do you have any cheese?"

"Sorry, afraid not. Catherine's allergic to cheese," said Ketura, sitting down next to Bella. "Master Greene buys into the idea that people come in black and white: you're either purely good or purely evil. He said that Ganodorf was pure evil, and I tried to tell him otherwise. So, he kicked me out of school."

"What?" Catherine had been eavesdropping on the conversation from the stairs.

"Yes, I got kicked out of school today. I'll tell your father myself, if you don't mind. Go back upstairs," ordered Ketura; Catherine did so.

"What did you expect after you took the side of the person believed to be the most vile ever?"

Ketura sighed. "I don't know," she said. "I was never any trouble for him before, and to just assume that I was as bad as Ganondorf after a squeaky clean record . . . you wonder what's wrong with a person. He's blinded by what he was told by Zelda. Everyone is. I'm sick of people believing everything they are told."

Ketura told Nathan about her day once he came home from work along with a request not to worry about it. He also didn't object when she planned to withdraw Catherine from school and teach her daughter herself.

--

At perhaps two in the morning, Ketura woke up on her own. Being careful not to disturb Nathan, she rolled out of bed, crept to the door, opened it quietly, closed it behind her as she silently went down the stairs and out of the house, then broke into a run on her way to the school.

Upon getting there, she ducked underneath a bush by the elementary building. She lifted her head to make sure nobody was following her, then she ran around to the building she used to attend class in. She climbed in through the window and landed gracefully on the balls of her feet.

_Should I be doing this?_ she asked herself. _I can't let this ignorance go on much longer, yet I don't know if this is the right way to end it._

_Students can't learn lies if there isn't a place for them to learn._

Ketura took a deep breath, then crouched so she could punch the floor with her right hand. Immediately, she felt the heat of Din's Fire around her body and listened to the whoosh of the flames as they spread out around her. She stood up and saw the walls burning up.

Her next course of action was to hop out of the window as quick as possible and dash home. Before opening the door to go inside and sleep the night off on the couch, she looked back and saw the smoke rising into the night sky.


	22. Twenty One

**TWENTY-ONE**

The townspeople were greatly displeased to wake up one morning and see a small fraction of the village reduced to rubble. All three schoolhouses and the dress shop had been burned to the ground in a mysterious fire. No traces of evidence had been left at the scene to hint at the guilty arsonist; and even if there was, it was probably ash along with everything else.

--

Link had seen the smoke at night before going to bed. In the morning, he ran straight to Ketura's home to see if everything was all right. He found Ketura sleeping on the couch, with her feet propped up on the armrest. There was dirt and gravel stuck to the soles of her feet.

She was awoken by the sound of the opening and closing of the door. "What?" she groaned as she sat up. "Oh, hi, Dad,"

"I was just stopping by to make sure you were all okay," said Link. "There was a fire last night and it burned down some buildings. Why are you sleeping on the couch?"

"I had to go to the bathroom last night, so I went and felt too tired to go all the way back upstairs." Usually Ketura was a good liar, but Link found the fib almost immediately.

"Ketura, there's a bathroom upstairs, isn't there?"

"But it's right next to Catherine's room, and I didn't want to disturb her."

Link then noted the dirt and gravel on Ketura's feet. "Did you go outside at all last night?"

"To dispose of my waste."

"Ketura. I think you started that fire."

Ketura laughed an uneasy laugh. "Why would you think that, Dad?"

"Last night, when I was over for dinner, you ranted about how the school was just a way to keep everyone ignorant. You must have sneaked out last night and used your powers to burn down the school. Only you let it get out of control."

"Dad," Ketura got up and walked over to the stairs to make sure that Nathan wasn't coming down. She then walked back up to her father. "Yes, I did it," she whispered. "I can't think of another way to stop Master Greene from promoting those lies. I didn't expect it to go out of control like it did. Please, don't tell Nathan. I'll tell him when I feel the time is right. I'm really sorry."

"Ketura," Link pulled her into a hug. "I know that your stint in the conspiracy has put you in the mindset that violence is the solution to your problems. It wasn't this time. If you were to go back today and try to reason with Master Greene, he might have agreed to let you come back. Are you going to confess to what you did?"

"I don't know," admitted Ketura; she felt the tears dripping from her eyes. "What will Nathan and Catherine think?"

--

Link agreed to keep Ketura's dark secret. He went to help with the clean-up efforts. Ketura explained what happened to Nathan. She expected him to be angry, or upset, even want a divorce - but -

"I forgave you for plotting to kill royalty, I suppose I can forgive you for this. Even the best of people slip up from time to time," he had said before giving her a comforting embrace; he could tell from the anguish on her face that she began to feel guilty.

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" she choked between sobs.

"I'll leave that part to you.

--

Ketura didn't go out to see what the fruits of her labor were; she stayed at home with Catherine while Nathan scoped it out. He brought home a visitor as well: a very tan woman with dark red hair who was clothed in all black. She carried a sword.

"Nathan, who's this?" asked Ketura.

"Ketura Lykos, I've heard so much about you," said the woman. "I'm Marlene, pirate and captain of the _Flying Cucco._"

"The lady who sent me all those letters," acknowledged Ketura. "It's finally nice to meet you."

"We were sailing by just now and we noticed smoke. So we stopped to make sure it wasn't Bellum. Do you have any idea how those fires started?"

"Nope, not a clue!" lied Ketura. "So you'll be on your way now?"

Marlene chuckled. "Of course not. You have the Pure Metal Sword."

"So take it!"

"But I would feel like a thief if I just took it. No, Ketura: you just have just as much reason to fight Bellum as my crew and I do. I heard it all from Ganondorf."

"Marlene," Ketura sighed. "Look: I have my seven-year-old daughter right here. I have her safety to think of - her future, even."

"Preserve her future by coming with us."

Ketura turned to her husband. "Nathan? What do you think?"

Nathan merely nodded. "You, your father, and the pirates can teach me to sword-fight. I'm all for putting this guy down."

"Okay, Marlene. We'll come with you. Life on this island is pretty boring anyway."

--

While Nathan packed some food, clothes, and other essentials, Ketura got the Pure Metal Sword, rounded up her father and said good-bye to Bella and William ("If it's a girl, I'm going to name her Ket") Marlene wanted to spare the eyes of young Catherine, so she led them around the island, away from the site of the destruction. Pete and Jack lowered the gangplank so the Lykos family could board the _Flying Cucco. _The family was given a cabin with three mattresses to sleep on. While Link, Nathan, and Catherine stayed on deck to look out at the ocean while the ship sailed, Ketura stayed inside the cabin, curled up in a ball, thinking.

_In order to truly have power, you also need wisdom and courage . . . ._

_Where was my wisdom last night? Ugh. After ten years, I thought that I had outgrown acting on impulse. Oh, what Ganondorf would think - Ganondorf!_

Ketura sprang off the bed and ran around that level of the deck, but her efforts were thrown off when the ship lurched. She was thrown into the wall, but she pulled herself together and went to the upper deck.

The pirate ship was about a mile south of the island, which was a bad direction to pick. Bellum's ship was right next to the _Flying Cucco_, and many phantom knights were on board. The pirates and Link were engaged in battle with the knights; Nathan and Catherine were climbing the crow's nest to get away from the action.

Bellum's appearance had changed in seven years. His pitch-black hair, which used to be short, was now grown out and hung limply around his thin face. He was thinner, and more gaunt, but the way he carried himself exuded a strange, fierce quality. He still wore the long yellow coat, and he had a sword strapped around his waist.

"Why, Ketura, what a pleasant surprise!" called Bellum while he sauntered her way.


	23. Twenty Two

**TWENTY-TWO**

"You saved me the trouble of coming to get you, my dear." He drew his sword. "But you have the Triforce of Power, so how can I kill you?"

"_I_ can kill _you_," Ketura pointed out, drawing her sword. "And whatever invincible minions you have. This sword is made out of the Pure Metals."

"Oh, dear me, what am I to do?" asked Bellum with thick, blatant sarcasm, cupping his sallow cheek with his free hand as if he was dumbfounded. "I will figure some way to kill you, Ketura, before I leave this ship. However, it would be a waste just to kill you. I've been having needs again . . . ."

Ketura pounced on him, but he deflected swiftly. Bellum then took a step backwards so he could take a swing, and he missed by half a foot. Ketura continued swiping at him with a rage, her blade always making contact with his. She was completely surprised at first that he had a sword, but it was an extra shock to see that he was actually pretty good.

She figured out that this duel would end in a stalemate, so instead of deflecting Bellum's next swing, she ducked underneath it and ran around deck. She saw Marlene and the whole crew dueling phantom knights with intensity; Link was taking on two, and this fight was the fiercest of them all. On her way around, she inserted the Pure Metal Sword into the eye of a knight, and once it was a pile of sand, she made her way to the mast and the ladder that led to the crow's nest. Before she could climb the ladder, Bellum jumped in front of it and pointed his sword at her.

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about your husband and our daughter. I just want you right now."

"Why?" asked Ketura, slowly backing away.

"You're the one with the sword forged from pure metals, that's why! So give the sword to me, and we'll go away. If not, your family will die."

"You want me? Come and get me!"Ketura turned down and ran below deck.

--

She dashed into her cabin and shut the door behind her before pushing all of her weight against it in a bracing attempt. In a few minutes, her breathing was on the brink of hyperventilating, and it was completely caught in her lungs when she heard something outside crash against the wall.

Heavy footsteps were slowly approaching the door. They couldn't belong to Bellum.

Ketura stepped away from the door, sword bared, ready to take on who or whatever was coming.

The door flew off the hinges across the room, and a sword came flying down towards her. She caught the blade in her free hand and then looked at the wielder.

"You honestly didn't intend to attack me, did you?" she asked Ganondorf with sass.

Ganondorf laughed. "Ketura Lykos, you never cease to amaze me." He slowly slid the blade out of Ketura's hand, but dropped it as soon as he saw blood on the spot that Ketura had caught it at. "Oh, I'm sorry." He wiped the blood off on his shirt and walked over to Ketura. He took her hand and looked at the cuts that ran on her palm right under her fingers and just above the heel of her hand.

"It's no big deal," said Ketura, withdrawing her hand and wiping the blood off on her lavender blouse. "I've fared way worse, you know. Anyway, now's not the time to catch up. Bellum's on this ship -"

"I know. I ran into him and threw him into the wall," said Ganondorf.

"He's threatened to kill my dad, my husband, and Catherine unless -"

"Husband?"

"Now's not the time!" snapped Ketura. "My sword is forged out of the pure metals Marlene sent me, and he wants to take it away from me. He's a much better swordsman than I expected him to be." She ran out of the cabin and looked around for Bellum, but he was nowhere to be found.

"He's gone!" she shouted in frustration. Almost immediately after she was finished, she heard Catherine screaming "MAAAAHM!" Ketura sprinted up to the deck, Ganondorf close behind.

The scene that awaited her took her by surprise. All the phantom knights had taken captive their pirate opponents and Link (his captor was more or less supporting his weight because he was covered in wounds and blood, and he had a black eye); the sight brought back memories of conspirators being subdued by Zelda's guards. Bellum had Nathan tied to the mast, and he was holding onto Catherine, who was squirming and struggling to free herself from her biological father's clutches.

"Bellum, let her go!" pleaded Ketura.

"I don't think so, Ketura. She's just as much mine as she is yours," retorted Bellum.

"You're not my dad!" screamed Catherine. She bit Bellum's hand, but he didn't so much as flinch.

"Shut up, you little worm!" snapped Bellum. "Now, Ketura, if I were to take Catherine, I would treat her well before she got what she deserves."

"No, please," breathed Ketura. "Don't hurt anyone. Take me. I'm the one you want." She walked slowly towards Bellum, but was soon stopped by Ganondorf's hand clapping down on her shoulder. She looked over to Nathan, who was eyeing Ganondorf with a somewhat envious expression. Bellum was looking at Ganondorf too.

"I knew you would see reason, my dear," said Bellum conversationally. Like a whizzing arrow, his sword was launched through the air towards Ketura, only it landed in Ganondorf's abdomen. He fell to the ground on all fours and began to cough up blood.

"Whoops. I missed." Bellum said, although it was obvious that he had planned to hit Ganondorf.

Ketura kneeled down next to him and placed her hand under his chin to lift his face up so his eyes could meet hers. "Give me your hand," she told him. He reached out his right hand, but instead of keeping it outstretched, he rested it on the side of her face. "Get off," she muttered while removing the Triforce of Power from her body.

"I'm glad I saw you one last time," said Ganondorf with labor.

"Oh no, sir. You're not dying today." Ketura took the small gold triangle that was the Triforce of Power, grabbed Ganondorf's hand, and made sure it entered his body.

"Well, Ganondorf, do you remember my ultimatum that I gave you before you threw me into the wall?" asked Bellum as Ganondorf rose to face him.

"Yes, I do, Bellum. I don't want any part of it."

"Fine then. I'll do it my way." Bellum advanced on Ketura, who scrambled to her feet. _Oh crap, I'm vulnerable now._

However, Bellum didn't attack her. He was the last thing she saw before Ganondorf's fist made contact with the side of her head. As the world blackened, she felt her friend's blade pierce through her body just above her hipbone, but the pain was soon gone.


	24. Twenty Three

**TWENTY-THREE**

The first person Ketura saw upon waking up was Catherine. The seven-year-old's face looked sad at first, but she lit up as her mother awoke.

"Mom! You're alive!" she declared before reaching down and giving her a hug.

"Catherine, please, careful," said Ketura, patting Catherine on the back. Catherine let go and continued to stand by the mattress that Ketura was lying on.

Now Nathan came, knelt by the mattress, and hovered over his wife. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"No, Nathan. I'm half-dead." Ketura replied sarcastically, sitting up. When she had sat up completely, she felt a sharp pain just above her right hipbone. She looked down to see a bandage run all the way around her waist. Nathan placed a hand at the middle of Ketura's back, and the other took her bandaged hand.

"What was he thinking?" fumed Ketura. "Nathan, where is Ganondorf?"

"Ketura," Nathan was going to reason with her, but she stood up abruptly, flinching at the pain caused by this action. She looked and saw her father, who was also lying down on another mattress, fast asleep. He was practically halfway mummified with bandages from all of his wounds. _He'll be fine,_ she thought before storming out of the cabin.

She went up to the deck and looked around, noting the star-scattered night sky. Marlene was the first person she saw in the pale moonlight, leaning against the rail, looking out at the passing ocean.

"Marlene," she said; the pirate jumped. "Do you know where Ganondorf is?"

"He's over at the stern."

Without another word, Ketura headed for the stern of the ship. True to Marlene's word, Ganondorf was there, also looking out at the sea.

"Ganondorf," she began abruptly, the rage building in her tone. "What the hell were you thinking? You could have killed me!"

Ganondorf turned around to face her. "Ketura, calm down. Please, let me explain -"

"Are you on Bellum's side or something? Did he tell you to kill me?"

"No and yes. See, Ketura -"

"I don't want to listen to what you have to say. You'll probably say something like 'I only do what I do because I love you' or something like that!"

"You're right, Ketura." Ganondorf tried to move towards her, but she took a step back.

"You must have spent quite a bit of time with these pirates. Are their customs rubbing off on you? Do you often show affection by attacking each other?"

"Ketura, STOP!" Ganondorf grabbed Ketura and pinned her down on the deck, his hand over her mouth. "I was on my way up to fight Bellum, but he ran into me. You know how he loves to give ultimatums, so he offered me one: either I kill you, or he would. Only he would - he would - do _that_ again before he killed you. So I punched you in the head to induce unconsciousness, and I stabbed you to complete the look of your death. Bellum bought it and left.

"See, I hurt you to save you. Does that make sense?" He looked at Ketura's expression, even though it was shrouded by the dark of night and his shadow. Her face relaxed from its anger into a stoic appearance.

"And might I say, your husband Nathan wasn't too happy with me when I tried to patch you up after Bellum left. He insisted on doing it all himself. You sure picked a loving husband, Ketura." Ganondorf stood up and released his grip on Ketura. He grabbed her below the underarms and hoisted her up onto her feet before enclosing her in a full-blown embrace.

"Seven years is far too long a time," whispered Ganondorf. "It should be nothing to someone as old as I, but time passes differently when you love someone."

Ketura then began to push against him, trying to break free. Ganondorf recognized this motion and obliged.

"I'm curious, Ketura. Do you let Nathan tell you that he loves you?"

"Of course. He's my husband."

"How, erm, intimate are you two?"

"Nosy, are we?" asked Ketura, swinging her leg up onto a railing so she sat on it and straddled it. "We only started last year, if you really must know."

"Well, if you remember that letter that I sent you along with the pure metals -"

"How could I forget, Ganondorf?" Ketura abandoned her straddle position and brought her leg back over the deck, so that her bottom balanced on the rail, her hands grasping it firmly for support. "You seriously thought that when I was older, I'd begin to see you differently? As more than a friend?"

"You were only fifteen at the time, Ketura. Far too young. Also, did you think before marrying Nathan, or was that impulse, like everything else you do?"

Ketura scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Ganondorf! I'm not fifteen anymore! I have a family to care and worry about."

Ganondorf sighed. "You've changed, Ketura. You've . . . you've grown up. I should accept that you don't need me anymore like you did when you were a teenager. But seeing you now, the woman you've become . . . . I don't think plain friendship will ever be enough for me again." He moved closer to her, and stretched his arm out forward. His fingers made contact with the part in Ketura's hair on the right side of her head and traced down the edges of her face, all the way down to her chin.

"No," said Ketura firmly. "You can't be in - see, I can't even bring myself to say it." She hopped off the railing and proceeded to go back below deck to her family. She met Nathan by the mast.

"Are you okay, Ketura?" he asked her, his hands gently resting on the top of her arms. "You look distraught."

"I'm just tired," she said. "I'm sorry I was in such a mood earlier. See, I wanted to tell you the reason I've been so moody these past few days, and why I lied to Bella about Catherine being allergic to cheese. It's me who can't stand cheese.

"Nathan, I'm pregnant."

A smile lit up Nathan's face.

"I've been meaning to tell you, but what with the whole school controversy and Bellum mucking up our lives again, there just wasn't time."

"This is great . . . wow!" Nathan couldn't help but throw his arms around his wife. She hugged him back. Through her peripheral vision, Ketura saw Ganondorf about ten yards away. She then moved to kiss Nathan; he returned the motion passionately. After perhaps fifteen seconds, Ketura broke away.

"Catherine's going to be so excited," she whispered. "I'm excited too. I finally get the family I always wanted when I was growing up . . . as long as I have you, and Catherine, and my dad, I need nothing else."

"Well, um," Nathan turned his head and noted Ganondorf's presence. "I want to talk to Ganondorf for a little bit. Go tell Catherine and your father, okay?"

"Okay." Ketura quickly kissed her husband again and ran below deck.

Nathan turned to face Ganondorf. "So, you only pretended to kill her to save her from Bellum?"

Ganondorf chuckled. "Did you eavesdrop on our whole conversation?" He seemed a little embarrassed.

"Yes, I did."

"Thank you. Also, you know that Ketura is married. To me."

"I know."

"Then please stop trying to woo her. Yes, it's hard not to love her and all, I know, but all that you two can be is friends."

"Thank you for stating the obvious, sir," said Ganondorf sarcastically.

"So, that all aside, how is life with the pirates?"

"I doubt that you will all find out, since Ketura is pregnant and everything. She shouldn't be fighting."

"Did you eavesdrop?" asked Nathan.

"Yes, I did." Ganondorf chortled.

"Dad! Dad!" Catherine's voice rang through the night air. The little girl came to her father, Ketura trailing behind. "Dad, guess what! I'm going to be a big sister!"

"I know. Isn't that great?" asked Nathan as he swooped down, picked Catherine up, and swung her around in the air, her black curls flying behind her head. "But how is the baby going to get here?"

Ketura laughed. "Not tonight, Cat," she said, patting her daughter on her head.

"Why did you leave Link alone in the cabin?" inquired Nathan as he put Catherine down.

"He's still asleep, and I didn't want to disturb him. He woke up for a little, I told him the news, he said the generic 'that's wonderful,' and went back to sleep."

"Who are you?" Catherine asked Ganondorf.

"I'm a friend of your mother's," he answered.

"How old are you?" she asked next; Ketura laughed.

"Older than dirt," responded Ganondorf.

"Over five hundred?"

"Yes. I'm about five hundred and fifty-five, I think. I don't keep track of my age anymore."

"Were you there when Hyrule flooded? How did it flood? Why? What trouble -"

"Catherine, you're being nosy now," reprimanded Ketura.

"You're a little young for that story, squirt," Ganondorf told Catherine; she pouted at being called "squirt." He went below deck, leaving the Lykos family above deck to look at all the islands that they passed by.

--

_As long as I have you, and Catherine, and my dad, I need nothing else . . . ._

The words echoed in Ganondorf's head as he went to the cabin that Link slept in. Would Ketura be open to a new life if something were to happen to her family? There was only one way to find out . . . .

He entered the cabin and saw that Link had finally sat up, supporting his weight with his hands. "Ganondorf," he said weakly in acknowledgement. "Is anything going on?"

"I seriously doubt you want to hear this, Link, but I'm in love with your daughter." Ganondorf stated boldly; he saw the pure metal sword lying on a nearby mattress, and he went to pick it up.

"She's married. You know that."

"I can fix that quickly. Ketura said so herself; as long as she has her family, that's all she wants."

"Ganondorf, what are you -"

"I always get what I want, Link," proclaimed Ganondorf, showing the back of his hand that boasted the Triforce crest. "Even if a few lives have to be lost." Without another word, he readied the sword and thrust it into Link's already broken body. He withdrew it quickly and wiped the blood off on the mattress.


	25. Twenty Four

**TWENTY-FOUR**

Ketura, Nathan, and Catherine went back to the cabin almost immediately, and what they saw shocked them. Link was clutching at his stomach, his hand bloody. His head was hung.

"Dad!" Ketura ran to her father's side. "Are you okay?"

"I can't believe he would -"

"Who, Dad?"

"Ganondorf," Link coughed.

"Ganondorf did this to you?"

Link merely nodded.

Ketura helped Link lay back down, keeping her hand behind his head.

"Ketura," he rasped. "I'm proud of you. You're a strong, caring woman." He coughed again. "I know that you will defeat Bellum one day . . . ." His eyes closed, his mouth was rendered immobile, and his head dropped to the side.

"Dad, no, please!" Ketura didn't bother to fight the tears flowing down her face. "Don't be dead, please." She ran her hand through his hair and ran to Nathan, who enclosed her in his arms as she sobbed. He too began to cry.

"Did Grandpa die?" asked Catherine innocently.

"Yes. He did." Nathan said.

"How?" Catherine persisted.

"He got hurt really bad today, and you can die if you're hurt badly enough."

Ketura broke free and ran out of the cabin. She found Ganondorf in his cabin that he shared with Tim (who was hanging out with Jack and Pete in the galley), and the moment she saw him, she picked up a chair and hurled it at him.

"What?" he asked sarcastically after the chair hit him and fell to the floorunceremoniously.

"Sarcasm isn't going to earn you any points, you murdering son of a --"

"Hey, watch the language. I never said anything bad about your mother."

"How could you just kill my father! He could have recovered; there was no need to put him out of his misery!"

"Link's death had nothing to do with him. It's all to do with you, Ketura."

"ME? WHAT ON THE GODS' AQUATIC EARTH HAVE I DONE?"

"I heard you tell Nathan that all you wanted and needed was your family. So, maybe, if your family died accidentally, you would come running to me for consolation."

"THIS WAS NO ACCIDENT!"

"I wanted to make it look like one."

"Ganondorf," Ketura had done all she could to regain her composure. "Please, don't kill my _family_. I love Catherine like any mother, and Nathan practically owns my heart. I know you're doing what you're doing because you want to make me yours, but it isn't working."

Ganondorf sighed. He registered the pained look on Ketura's face, which was blotchy from crying. "I'm sorry," he finally said. "Truly, deeply sorry."

"You should be," Ketura said scathingly before going back to her cabin.

--

"Maybe," she thought as she looked over Link's body. "Perhaps I could resurrect him,"

"Resurrect him? How?" asked Nathan.

"I've done it before, perhaps I can do it again." Ketura then fell silent as she thought of anything that Link had done that he might need redemption for. She had already forgiven him for treating her poorly back when she was fifteen, and that was all she came up with for his poor behavior.

_Dear Gods,_ she prayed silently, _this is my father before me. His life just recently ended unfairly. Please, return him to me. I would be most grateful if you did._

She waited. Nothing happened.

"He's gone," she breathed, feeling the return of her tears.

--

On the following morning, the _Flying Cucco_ stopped at a ring-shaped island so that Ketura could bury Link. His body was wrapped up in a sheet and had half of his crystal of dark energy tied to it (the other half was buried with Midna). Marlene had a decrepit shovel that she allowed Ketura to use.

Once Link was buried, Ketura grabbed a nearby stone that was flat, smooth, and the perfect size for a grave marker. She cut the back of her hand open with the sharp end of the shovel and wrote with her blood:

LINK REMUS LYKOS  
born: May 14, ninth year of King Gerald XXVI of Hyrule  
died: October 25, eighth year of the Great Sea  
Age: 40  
A loving father and grandfather, and a great hero

"I'm sorry, Dad," said Ketura as she erected the gravestone. "I wish that we could have had more time together. This isn't the life I would have chosen for us to live. Even though I can get along pretty well on my own, your support has always been appreciated.

"Goodbye. I love you."

Ketura wiped her tears and returned to the ship to meet Nathan's comfort. The couple and their daughter spent the rest of the day in the cabin, until Marlene came to call.

"We've come upon another island with an extremely small village on it. Bellum hasn't gotten here yet, or he thinks that the small populations aren't yet worth his energy. And since you're pregnant, Ketura, I don't think it's a great idea for you to be sailing around. Would you all object to living on this island for the time being?"

"I want to go home." Catherine said with a small pout.

"We can't go home," said Ketura. "We might run into Bellum again."

"It's a good idea," said Nathan. "When are we leaving?"

"Well, it's about twilight right now. If you don't go soon, you'll have to spend another day on the ship."

Ketura took a deep breath and exhaled. "Let us assemble our belongings, and we'll be on our way. Marlene, thank you for everything."

Marlene smirked. "No problem. It's an honor serving Ganondorf's ex-girlfriend." She laughed at her own joke, and both Nathan and Ketura rolled their eyes.


	26. Twenty Five

Readers, I'm having a bit of a conundrum: there is still a lot yet to occur in Ketura's life, and if I were to keep it all in this story, it might go on for at least fifty chapters. I want to know what you would prefer: keeping it all in this story or ending this with "To Be Continued" and put the rest of it in a third installment. Please say so in a review. Thank you!

And may I remind you, there will be no updates until you decide what you want.

--

**TWENTY-FIVE**

Joshua and Calvin were lowering a small lifeboat into the ocean as the Lykos family was coming up to deck with their few possessions. Ketura looked up at the sky, glowing its brilliant twilit orange, and thought of her father. _At least he's with Midna now in the afterlife._

The island that the three (and the unborn baby) were destined for was only about fifty yards from the _Flying Cucco. _About six straw-roofed houses stood scattered around the island, which was bisected by a river and connected by a bridge. A plateau rose over the village below, and a forest was growing on the plateau.

The whole crew was out to say good-bye to them. Marlene followed behind, bearing the Pure Metal Sword. "Keep this," she said to Ketura as she handed the sword over. "Defend yourself with it."

"Thanks," said Ketura, accepting the sword. She followed Nathan and Catherine to the readied lifeboat. After those two got in the boat, she tossed in her bag of provisions and the sword and said, "Calvin, you can go ahead and lower the boat. I'll be down after I talk to Ganondorf."

Calvin nodded and lowered the boat down into the ocean.

Ketura turned and made her way to Ganondorf, who was being standoffish and staying near the mast. When she was three feet away from him, she spoke.

"Today's October the twenty-sixth. At this moment, nine years ago, you and I met."

"You tried to hit me with your shovel," Ganondorf reminisced.

"What would you do if the dead body that you accidentally exhumed came alive?"

That got him to laugh. When he was done, he asked, "Why do you want to talk to me?" He looked hopeful about what Ketura had come to say.

"I want to forgive you," she admitted. "Even though you killed my father and plotted to kill the rest of my family, you're still my friend, and I love you as that."

"Are you going to stay here, on this ship, with the crew . . . with me?"

"No. I can't." Ketura looked down at the floor, but Ganondorf placed his hand under her chin and lifted her head up so their eyes met.

"Just remember, Ketura. I will wait for you. Until the day I die. I will always love you."

"I hope that we'll see each other again eventually."

"I know that we will."

Ketura looked back at the island that awaited her. "I need to go," she said. "Thank you . . . my friend." She extended her hand to touch his cheek and bring his face down to her level. Very quickly, but very gently, she kissed him.

"Goodbye."

She withdrew and went to the place where the lifeboat went down. Taking one last look at Ganondorf, she jumped down into the water below and climbed into the boat.

Ganondorf ran to the edge of the boat and watched the Lykos clan row to shore. He saw that Ketura was pointing at the island, showing it to Catherine. Nathan was rowing, looking over his shoulder to make sure he didn't accidentally ram into the shore. Ketura turned around and leaned her head on Nathan's shoulder; she quickly kissed his neck.

He met Ketura's gaze when she turned around, but she quickly broke it off. This was cruel, he decided. He knew that he probably couldn't be with Ketura, and the kiss -

_What woman kisses a man and then leaves?_

As soon as the family had stepped onto the beach, he walked away and went into his cabin. He shut the door and went to sit down on his bed.

This was probably the hardest thing he had ever faced; even invading Hyrule all those years ago seemed ridiculously easy when Ketura left him. The prospect of not hearing her voice or looking upon her exquisite face again for perhaps years was intimidating, along with the definite notion that he would never hold her again.

Holding onto her would be in vain, however. Vanity, like chasing after the wind.


	27. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

He was floating, ascending, approaching the water's edge.

King Daphnes Nohansen of Hyrule had spent the last eight years in a state of suspended animation in the sealed-off Hyrule, and he had finally broken free by the power of his fragment of the Triforce of Wisdom. He had one objective in mind: restore Hyrule, no matter what it took.

His head broke the surface, and he took a sharp breath of relief as he bobbed up and down. After breathing for a little bit, he surveyed his surroundings for dry land. There was an island to the east within swimming distance, so he swam there to the best of his ability.

Feeling the solid land of the triangular-shaped island brought a feeling of security to Daphnes. He laid out on the shore and watched the fluffy clouds pass through the air for what seemed like hours until he thought about his mission.

_It is not practical to go about in my royal robes, I think. But at my age, should I be going about this vast sea at all? Perhaps a younger, stronger alter ego will be better._

Daphnes labored to stand up, but finally got his stout body into an upright position. He took off his kingly diadem and cast it into the water, watching it sink back into the depths of the ocean. He then grabbed the back of his right hand, closed his eyes, and felt the warmth of his power's light envelope him.

When the light died down, the world remained the way it was. However, Daphnes felt strength and energy. His body felt taller, leaner, fresher. He looked into the ocean to see his reflection off the water, and he saw a young man, appearing to be about thirty years of age, with a tall, muscular body completely covered in red clothing. However, this man's face still bore the hardness and wisdom of age.

Daphnes reminded himself of a lion . . . a red lion.

A white object drifted into his reflection. A conductor's baton, with adorning swirls sticking out on the sides. He scooped up the Waker and put it in his pocket.

"And now," at least his voice remained the same as he spoke out loud. "Onward I go."

**TO BE CONTINUED . . . .**


End file.
